LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deceived         JAM     4     1893  ••••  l89 
Accessions  No.  i\Ci  S"/4^T . .  Class  No. 


SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


BY 


ALFRED    HOLBROOK, 

i|  ' 

PRINCIPAL  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  LEBANON,  OHIO;  AUTHOR  OF  NORMAI 
METHODS  OF  TEACHING, 


A.    S.    BARNES    AND    COMPANY, 
751  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


Hi 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  Year  1872, 

BY  ALFRED  HOLBROOK, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PREFACE. 


This  course  of  Lectures  has  been  published  as  a  text-book,  or  rather  a  drill- 
book  in  the  arts  of  Teaching  and  School  Management  It  claims  to  present  a 
novel  and  yet  a  common  sense  system  for  making  the  school  attractive,  study 
exciting,  and  severe  application  the  choice  of  every  pupil.  This  claim  is  based 
on  innumerable  successful  demonstrative  experiments  in  all  grades  of  schoolf , 
where  the  system  has  been  applied,  by  trained  teachers. 


let.  Study  and  discipline,  by  correct  management,  can  be  in.ido  a  pleas- 
are  instead  of  a  burden. 

2d.  Study  should  never  be  imposed  aa  a  punishment,  nor  should  pupils 
ever  be  punished  for  not  studying. 

3d.  Instruction  should  be  given  from  real  objects  and  by  actual  practice; 
and  no  teacher  or  pupil  should  be  satisfied  with  words,  or  ideas  even,  as 
obtained  from  books  only. 

4th.  The  pupil  should,  under  the  guidance  of  a  teacher,  work  out  hie 
own  instruction  and  discipline,  and  by  daily  practice  in  speaking  and 
writing,  learn  to  express  his  ideas  with  grace  and  cogency. 

5th.  The  school  government,  which  every  teacher  should  aim  at  and  work 
for,  is  that  of  no  laws,  save  the  unwritten  law  of  right,  based  on  mutual 
respect  of  teacher  and  pupils. 

6th.  The  separation  of  the  sexes  at  any  period  of  education  is  barbarous 
and  unnatural  —  the  practice  belongs  only  to  Catholic  and  JVlahomctan 
munities.  *J^*Z^ 

7th.  The  whole  course  of  instruction  and  discipline  should  be  conducte 
with  reference  to  the  duties  of  life,  and  not  with  the  design  of  passing  any 
particular  examination  to  obtain  a  degree  or  any  other  honor. 


ZE^IESTJLTS 


1st.  Physical  health  and  moral  purity  are  the  direct  and  inevitable  results 
of  these  principles  of  instruction  and  school  government. 

2d.  Any  institution  really  conducted  on  these  principles  will  save  its  pupile 
more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  time  and  rasping  ordinarily  devoted  to  school 


PREFACE. 


discipline,  and  more  than  one-half  the  time  ordinarily  required  to  accomplish 
any  prescribed  course  of  academic  training  and  professional  drill. 

Graduates,  trained  on  such  principles,  not  to  make  shirking  their  boast  and 
bane;  but  working,  their  pride  and  power,  will  at  once  take  an  honorable 
position  among  the  earnest  laborers  in  life's  great  field. 


UVUOZDIE!    OIF 

These  Lectures  are  not  "  the  fine-spun  theories  of  one  who  has  made  a 
practical  failure,  in  the  business  of  which  they  treat,"  as  too  many  edu  ra- 
tional books  are;  on  the  other  hand,  they  demonstrate  how  the  entire  school 
management,  as  based  on  the  "  principles  avowed,"  is  carried  on  in  the  spirit  of 
liberty  and  in  the  power  of  love,  in  multitudes  of  schools,  where  teachers  trained 
in  these  principles  are  at  work.  They  describe  the  processes  by  which  these 
results  have  been  obtained,  and  can  be  by  the  large  majority  of  teachers 
who  heartily  adopt  the  principles  and  give  them  a  fair  trial.  Jt  must,  however, 
be  admitted  that  in  the  most  artistic  of  all  arts,  viz. :  Teaching,  training  is  quite 
as  necessary  for  the  majority,  as  in  any  of  the  inferior  arts  as  painting, 
sculpture,  architecture,  or  engineering. 

These  lectures  give  methods  for  school  organization,  sustaining  order, 
inciting  to  diligence,  arousing  enthusiastic  effort,  and  FIXING  GOOD  HABITS. 
In  thousands  of  schools  the  practice  of  these  methods  of  school  manage- 
ment by  trained  teachers  has  revolutionized  the  entire  feeling  and  working 
power  of  the  school;  converting  the  school-room  from  a  place  of  confinement 
and  restraint,  into  a  scene  of  continued  interest  and  excitement,  increasing 
daily  the  united  and  determined  effort  of  all  the  pupils  to  accomplish  the 
legitimate  objects  of  a  school.  The  processes  and  methods  described,  are 
those  in  which  mutual  confidence  begets  mutual  respect  and  excludes 
coercion  on  the  one  hand;  resistance  or  servility  on  the  other:  and  ever 
increasing  success,  awakens  higher  aspiration  and  arouses  more  vigorous  and 
persistent  endeavor  on  the  part  of  every  pupil. 

The  Teacher  thus  finds  his  every  faculty,  every  affection  exercised  to  iw 
utmost  capability  in  guiding  and  blessing  those  so  eager  to  appropriate  hia 
euggestions,  so  noxious  to  comply  with  or  forestall  his  every  request. 


CONTENTS. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURES  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


I.    LECTURE.     QUALIFICATION  FIRST,  Common  Sense 3 

II.    LECTURE.     QUALIFICATION  SECOND,  Knowledge  of  the  Branches 14 

III.    LECTURE.     QUALIFICATION  THIRD,  Teaching  Power 26 

IV.    LECTURE.     QUALIFICATION  FOURTH,  Governing  Power 38 

V.    LECTURE.     QUALIFICATION  FIFTH,  Love  of  the  Work 49 

VI.    LECTURE.     Difficulties  in  School-room— How  to  Overcome  Them 65 

1.  Insubordination,  from  Bad  Predecessors 66 

2.  Insubordination,  from  Good  Predecessors 67 

3.  General  Prejudice  against  Novelties 69 

4.  Bad  Habits  in  School-room 70 

5.  Interference  of  Parents 70 

6.  Amount  of  Labor  to  be  Performed 71 

7.  Irregularity  in  Attendance..  74 

VII.    LECTURE.     Difficulties  in  School-room — How  to  Overcome  Them 77 

8.  Tardiness  ...  77 

9.  Indifference  of  Parents 82 

10.  Want  of  Uniformity  and  Sufficiency  of  Books 84 

11.  Want  of  Sufficient  Accommodations 65 

12.  Want  of  Properly-prepared  Fuel 86 

13.  Hard  Case? 87 

14.  Low  Wages 89 

VIII.    LECTURE.     Self-difficulties— How  to  Overcome  Them 92 

1.  Bad  Grammar  ;  Pedantry;  Dogmatism 92 

2.  Use  of  Tobacco,  and  What  Comes  of  It 94 

3.  Want  of  Self-control — Four  Specifications 96 

4.  Want  of  Social  Power — the  Reason  and  Remedy 100 

5.  Want  of  Confidence  in  One's  Self— How  to  Obtain  It 102 

6.  Want  of  Confidence  in  Human  Nature— Why 103 

7.  Want  of  Confidence  in  God 104 

IX.    LECTURE 106 

Human  Constitution  as  the  Material  for  Training 108 

School  Training  Defined  and  Exemplified 110 

X     LECTURE.     School  Management  in  Class  Management 114 

Education  the  Formation  of  Habits 115 

The  Habits  to  be  aimed  at  in  the  School  Work 115 

1.  Cheerful,  Earnest  Industry  ;  Love  of  Work 115 

2.  Careful,  Thorough  Investigation  ;  Promptitude  and  Energy..  117 

3.  Systematic  Arrangement  and  Methodic  Action;  Good  Order..  119 

4.  Useful  and  Benevolent  Activity;  A  Noble  and  Virtuous  Life.  123 
XI.    LECTURE 125 

XII.    LECTURE 135 

School  Management  in  Class  Management 135 

Exemplified  and  Explained  in  the  Management  of   a  Mental 

Arithmetic  Class....                                                    135 


CONTENTS. 

XIII.   LECTURE.     Preliminaries  to  Organization 156 

Arrangements  with  Directors 157 

Consult  School  Laws 157 

Items  in  Contract ^ 

Ask  Directors  to  visit  the  School-house  with  you H 

Apparatus 1( 

Text  books JJ 

Arrangements  for  One's  Self. 16* 

XIV.   LECTURE.     Organization  of  Ungraded  School 165 

Classification  in  Arithmetic;  Investigation  in  Rending 167 

Calling  Pupils  to  Recitation-seats,  and  Excusing  Them 169 

Recess 1*' 

Explanation  in  Arithmetic 1| 

Afternoon  Exercises 1' 

Recess 170 

Organization  Proper;  List  of  Classes,  with  Time  allotted  to  Each..  1! 

Full  Programme  of  Exercises  ;  Explanations  nnd  Remark? 174 

XV.   LECTURE.    Normal  Methods  of  Inciting  to  Diligence  and  Order 178 

Directors  Make  Rules 178 

Teacher  Makes  Rules 1 

Teacher  Begins  with  no  Plan 1' 

Working  by  a  Programme 180 

Training  the  Will  into  Good  Habits 181 

How  shall  Laws  be  Introduced 184 

Fixing  a  Penalty 186 

Co-operation  of  Directors 1! 

Sympathy  of  Pupils II 

Normal  Methods  for  Introducing  and  Sustaining  Law  of  Right...  190 

XVI.   LECTURE.     Discipline;  Incentives 194 

Discipline  Explained < 194 

Proper  Incentives 196 

In  Recitation,  in  Roll-call,  in  Self-reporting '. 196 

Normal  Method  of  Self-reporting 1' 

Non-communication  199 

Daily  Reports,  Weekly  Reports— Form  of 202 

Weekly  Report  Card 204 

Improper  Incentives;  Prizes;  Exemption  from  Study;   Monitors 

and  Spies;  Excuses 207 

XVII.   LECTURE.     Discipline;  Penalties 210 

Precautions  210 

Proper  Penalties ^ 211 

Improper  Penalties * 218 

XVIII.   LECTURE.     Strategy  and  Tactics 220 

Normal  Strategy  ;  Teaching  the  Alphabet ;  Study  a  Burden  ;  Study 
a  Willing  Act ;  Parents'  Interference  Corrected  ;  Parents'  In- 
difference Corrected  ;  False  Reporting — How  Checked  ;  Hard 

Cases — How  Managed;  etc.,  etc * 223 

XIX.    LECTURE.     Erroneous  Object  Teaching 235 

Book  Lessons  ;  No  Illustrations  ;  "  Thoroughness  ;"  etc, 236 

Dealing  in  Quiditios 238 

Object-lesson  Teaching 238 

XX.   LECTURE.     True  Object  Teaching 248 

The  True  Objects  of  True  Object  Teaching 249 

True  Mediate  Objects 250 

True  Immediate  Objects 251 

The  True  Spirit  of  True  Object  Teaching 252 

True  Forms  of  Illustrations 255 

Rhetorical  Illustrations 255 

Scientific  Illustrations UM ^ 256 

Practical  Illustrations 258 

XXI.  LECTURE.     Processes  of  True  Object  Teaching  in  the  High  School 261 

Management  of  Chemistry  Class 267 


LE(TrUEE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 


Delivered    at   the    Normal    Institute,    at    Lebanon*     Ohir, 


LECTURE  I. 

QUALIFICATIONS  OF  TEACHERS. 

The  lecture  this  morning  is  introductory  to   the   cours? 
on  ScTiool  Management. 
I  shall  first  discuss  the 

QUALIFICATIONS     OF    TEACHERS. 

Under  this  head,  I  shall  illustrate  by  examples  the  most 
important  qualification,  COMMON  SENSE. 

It  is  the  popular  dictum  that  if  a  man  is  fit  for  nothing  else 
he  will  resort  to  teaching  for  a  livelihood.  But  if  he  could 
find  any  other  employment  he  would  never  teach.  There  are 
of  course  some  exceptions  to  this  popular  opinion,  and  a  few 
persons  sensible  enough,  to  esteem  the  teacher,  but  I  am 
speaking  of  the  feeling  which,  Fellow  Teachers,  sways  the 
multitude,  and  which  too  far  neutralizes  your  influence  and 
perverts  and  debases  your  power.  Do  I  speak  too  strongly, 
when  I  say,  that  a  large  majority,  even  of  intelligent  people, 
think  that  the  Profession  of  Teaching  receives  all  such  per 
sons  as  have  tried  other  kinds  of  business  and  failed,  or  whc 
are  too  lazy  to  work,  and  yet  imagine  with  a  little  knowledge 
of  Grammar  and  Arithmetic,  enough  to  pass  through  the  flint 
mill  of  a  county  examination,  they  can  teach,  if  afterward 

3 


4  LECTURE   I. 

they  can  only  "find  a  school  not  taken  up?"  Yes,  teach  at 
some  price ! 

Did  you  ever  feel  depressed,  Teacher,  when  you  presented 
yourself  before  a  board  of  Directors,  yes,  degraded  by  the 
power  of  this  prejudice  which  characterizes  you  as  a  no  tody, 
so  that  you  hardly  dared  demand  decent  wages  for  ycur 
services  ? 

This  being  the  state  of  popular  sentiment,  I  nevertheless 
wish  to  show  that  the  true  position  of  the  teacher,  is  one  ol 
the  highest  dignity,  and  one  to  which  men  of  pure  and  earn- 
est ambition  can  well  aspire. 

I  hesitate  not  to  affirm  that  the  qualification  necessary  to 
give  success  in  any  calling,  common  sense,  is  demanded  in  lar- 
ger measures  in  Teaching  than  in  any  other  profession.  Fur- 
thermore, I  dare  assert,  that  the  really  successful  teacher,  male 
or  female,  can  succeed  at  any  other  business  for  which  he  or 
she  feels  a  predilection.  He  who  can  succeed  according  to  my 
standard,  moderately,  in  Teaching,  can  succeed  according  to 
the  worlds'  standard,  eminently,  in  almost  any  other  business, 
to  which  he  shall  feel  himself  called.  You  see,  I  take  this 
popular  opinion  by  the  throat,  and  I  intend  to  hold  it  there, 
and  am  determined  to  put  it  down,  so  far  as  a  firm  purpose 
and  a  kind  Providence  will  permit. 

We,  Teachers,  will  have  to  work  for  ourselves  and  with  each 
other,  against  this  wide-spread  error,  and  the  way  we  will  do  it, 
Teachers,  is  to  make  ourselves  more  worthy,  more  efficient;  and 
then  we  shall  not  complain  of  a  want  of  appreciation,  or  of 
low  salaries. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  develop  a  few  positions  and  rela- 
tions in  which  teachers  more  than  others  require  that  inestim- 
able article,  COMMON  SENSE. 

The  adaptation  of  means  to  ends  is  wisdom.  Wisdom  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  common  sense.  The  Teacher 
above  all  others  requires  this  power. 

I.     Common  Sense  will  indicate  itself,  by  adaptation  tc, 

circumstances. 

There  is  no  business  which  at  its  commencement  requires 
so  great  versality  of  adaptation,  as  that  of  the  Teacher. 


SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 

I  will  give  one  or  two  examples,  in  proof.  If  a  teacher  who 
has  been  raised  in  a  village,  takes  a  school  in  the  country,  and 
carries  his  village  airs  with  him,  they  will  certainly  militate 
against  his  success,  and  well  enough,  will  it  be  said  by  the 
boys,  if  not  by  the  girls,  "He  hasn't  common  sense." 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  comes  from  the  country  and 
brings  his  rusticity  with  him  to  the  village ;  his  homespun 
costume,  and  his  awkward  manners,  if  not  speedily  doffed, 
will  inevitably  arouse  a  spirit  of  insubordination  and  con- 
tempt, which  all  the  look  knowledge  in  the  world  will  neither 
control  nor  subdue.  But  common  sense  may  do  both,  or  rather 
it  would  have  foreseen  and  forestalled  the  difficulty.  You  may 
say  the  difficulty  is  country  breeding,  but  I  say  country  breed- 
ing is  the  best  kind  of  breeding;  and  the  trouble  is,  want  of 
common  sense. 

I  will  go  a  little  further  and  take  a  college  graduate,  as 
an  example.  I  knew  such  a  one,  who  went  to  New  Orleans, 
and  won  the  position  of  Principal  of  the  High  School,  with 
eight  or  ten  able  competitors  in  the  race.  His  qualifications, 
so  far  as  a  knowledge  of  books  was  concerned,  were  superior 
to  any  of  his  antagonists,  but  in  the  matter  of  dress,  he  show- 
ed a  niggardly  spirit,  and  a  disregard  to  the  demands  of  his 
position;  so  much  so,  that  with  other  slovenly  attire  he 
wore  an  old  glazed-top  cap  that  originally  cost  about  seventy- 
five  cents,  and  which  was  so  badly  dilapidated  that  his  hair 
projected  through  the  crown.  He  certainly  showed  a  want  of 
common  sense ;  he  hadn't  enough  of  that  article  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  teaching;  and  he  lost  his  place,  as  was  right 
and  proper,  he  should. 

Again,  if  a  Teacher  who  has  been  educated  in  a  High  School, 
attempts  to  carry  out  the  usages,  and  the  methods  in  which  he 
was  trained,  in  the  management  of  a  common  school,  failure 
vrill  be  the  result,  of  course. 

Again,  if  you  attempt  to  carry  out  the  particular  methods 
of  instruction  by  which  you  have  been  trained  here,  expect- 
ing children  of  ten,  twelve,  or  fifteen  years  of  age  to  receive 
the  same  benefits  you  have  received,  in  the  same  length  of 
time,  it  will  all  prove  a  sad  mistake,  and  will  demonstrate 


O  LECTURE   I. 

a  want  of  common  sense,  and  such,  I  think,  as  can  hardly  exist 
in  any  one  before  me. 

Again,  in  this  school  we  have  no  rules ;  suppose  you  at 
tempt  this  plan  in  almost  any  other,  you  might  make  a  fail 
ure;  and  you  might  have  success,  if  you  were  witty  enough. 
But  in  the  majority  of  districts,  the   most  witty — the  best 
teachers  would  not  attempt  it.     They  might  aspire  to  it,  but 
would  scarcely  be  willing  to  announce  such  a  plan,  on  open- 
ing school,  for  the  first  time. 

II.  Common  Sense  will  indicate  uself,  in  not  overtasking 
or  undertasking  scholars  ly  the  amount  of  labor  required  of 
them. 

There  is  particular  necessity  for  the  exercise  of  this  quali- 
fication, where  there  is  so  much  to  do,  and  so  little  time  to  do 
it  in.  Besides  this,  there  are  in  the  same  class,  say  in  Geogra- 
phy, those  who  have  studied  it  for  two  or  three  years  and 
those  who  have  studied  it  only  for  two  or  three  terms.  Here  is 
a  difficulty,  in  so  arranging  the  lessons  that  the  most  advanced 
will  not  slide  into  mischief  for  the  want  of  sufficient  study, 
while  the  less  advanced  will  be  discouraged  by  the  impossi- 
oilities  demanded  of  them.  It  requires  not  a  little  contrivance 
and  watchfulness,  in  other  words,  active  Common  Sense  to 
avoid  or  overcome  these  difficulties.  You  may  say,  "Cut  the 
class  into  two,"  I  say,  "Don't  do  it."  You  have  only  a  half 
hour,  out  of  the  six,  at  the  most,  to  hear  this  recitation.  You 
will  need  all  of  that.  There  is  not  time  in  fifteen,  nor  in 
twenty  minutes,  to  interest  a  class.  It  requires  half  an  hour 
at  least,  to  manage  a  class  in  Geography  with  any  degree  of 
success.  But  I  shall  show,  in  some  future  lecture,  how  Com- 
mon Sense  will  overcome  this  difficulty  and  many  others. 

III.  Common  Sense  icill  indicate  itself,  in  not  permitting 
the  teacher  to  enact  rules  which  he  cannot  see  carried  out. 

Some  Directors,  who  may  wish  to  employ  you,  will  have  a 
long  list  of  written  or  printed  rules  for  the  government  of 
their  school,  and  will  expect  you  to  enforce  them.  I  advise 
you  not  to  promise  any  such  thing.  I  would  say  that  I  would 
try  to  govern  the  school  in  the  spirit  of  these  rules,  and  to 
carry  them  out  as  well  as  I  was  able,  but  would  not  be  willing 
to  accept  such  a  code,  with  the  expectation  that  I  should  en- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  f 

force  them  to  the  letter.  To  make  the  case  a  little  plainer, 
suppose  your  Directors  impose  a  rule,  among  others,  prohibit- 
ing swearing.  Your  scholars  are  scattered  over  the  district, 
some  in  town,  and  some  in  the  country.  If  you  had  omni- 
science itself  you  could  not  prevent  swearing.  It  would  be 
utterly  vain  to  try  it,  especially,  if  you  had  a  rigid  rule  against 
it.  Of  course  1  would  raise  a  voice  of  kindly  admonition  and 
earnest  remonstrance  against  it,  presenting  the  evils  of  indulg 
ence  on  one  side  and  the  advantages  of  abstinence  on  the 
other.  I  would  do  almost  anything  to  prevent  it,  save  at- 
tempting to  enforce  a  law  which  would  only  prove  a  provoca- 
tion to  the  commission  of  the  sin. 

I  will,  after  a  while,  show,  how  you  may  lead  your  scholars 
by  united  action  of  their  own,  to  accomplish  what  is  desired 
in  this  direction,  without  involving  yourself  in  an  impossibility 
or  absurdity. 

IV.  Common  Sense  will  indicate  itself  by  not  imposing 
study,  or  confinement  in  the  school  room,  as  a  punishment. 

Now,  I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if  there  were  a  dozen  or  more 
curly-headed  young  men  present  who  are  ready  to  say,  "I 
never  would  have  studied  at  all,  if  I  had  not  been  kept  after 
school  and  compelled  to."  The  wonder,  to  my  mind  is,  that 
they  learned  anything,  with  such  management  working 
against  them.  I  wish  to  lay  down  this  general  principle  that 
whatever  is  forced  upon  us,  however  good  or  bad,  in  itself,  will 
become  repulsive,  the  moment  we  discover  the  pressure;  and 
the  more  stringent  the  coercion,  the  more  hateful  will  be  the 
requisition.  Suppose  you  force  candy  on  a  child,  how  long 
will  the  child  love  candy  ?  Let  us  take  another  example. 
Here  is  a  young  man  who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity, 
and  is  beginning  to  think  about  making  arrangements  for  life. 
But  his  father  who  still  claims  authority  over  him,  says,  "John, 
1  want  you  to  attend  to  that  business  immediately. "  A  certain 
young  lady  lives  over  the  way,  and  John  has  been  consider 
ing  an  alliance,  with  her  for  some  time.  But  the  father 
says,  "I  want  you  to  arrange  matters,  and  push  it  through. 
There  is  no  use  in  dallying  any  longer.  You  have  wasted 
time  enough.  If  you  can't  close  up  the  business  before  long, 
I  shall  help  you."  What  is  the  result  ?  John,  if  he  has 


g  LECTURE   I. 

never  been  impudent  before,  will  be  so  this  time,  and  will 
reply.  "Father,  I  can  manage  my  own  affairs. »  And  the 
more  the  father  will,  the  more  John  won't 

The  soul  thirsts  for  knowledge,  and  nothing  yields  such 
rich  delight  as  its  acquisition;  but  when  forced,  it  is  worse 
than  uncoated  pills  crammed  into  the  resisting  child.  Now, 
teachers,  you  may  object,  that  my  view  of  Common  Sense 
is  contrary  to  universal  usage.  All  that  I  have  to  say  is, "  All 
the  worse  then  for  universal  usage.  It  is  time  that  it  should 
be  reformed  by  one  of  the  plainest  dictates  of  Common 
Sense." 

V.  Another  indication  of  Common  Sense  is,  in  nH  refer- 
t  ing  to  personal  defects. 

If,  for  instance,  one  of  your  pupils  is  cross-eyed  and  you 
should  make  any  allusion  to  the  fact;  it  would  not  only 
show  a  want  of  sense,  but  a  want  of  heart,  and  you  ought  not 
to  succeed;  you  are  out  of  your  place,  if  you  are  occupying 
the  position  of  a  teacher. 

Do  you  understand  me  ?  One  of  your  little  boys,  perhaps, 
is  lame.  It  is  not  his  fault  but  his  sad  misfortune.  He  suffers 
enough  from  the  ever  present  calamity  without  being  taunted 
with  it,  as  if  a  crime.  If  it  is  not  sensible,  kind,  or  Christian  ever 
to  refer  to  defects  in  pupils;  it  is  sheer  lolly,  and  abominable 
wickedness  to  refer  to  any  delinquencies  in  friends,  parents,  or 
other  relations.  I  need  not  dwell  here,  surely ;  but  suppose 
one  of  your  pupils  has  a  father  in  the  state  prison.  Would  it 
not  be  splendid  policy,  sometime,  when  you  are  provoked  by 
his  waywardness,  to  say  "You  are  a  chip  off  the  old  block,  and 
ought  to  be  in  the  state  prison  where  your  father  is. "  Yet 
such  things  are  done.  Not  precisely  in  such  terms  but  in 
the  same  spirit.  In  my  mind,  such  teachers  are  terribly  de- 
fective, themselves,  somewhere.  They  don't  continue  to  curse 
the  school  room  long,  thank  Heaven.  They  say  "I  don'l  like 
the  business/' 

VI.  The  next  indication   of  Common   Sense   is   in   not 
riding  a  hobby. 

Take  for  example,  Singing  Geography.  Teachers  formerly 
came  around  with  their  big  out-line  maps  and  claimed  to 
teach  all  that  was  necessary  to  be  known  about  Geography  in 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  9 

a  week  or  two,  in  all  the  tunes  from  Old  Mear  to  Fishers'  Horn- 
pipe, from  Coronation  to  Money-Musk.  The  children  remember 
Hie  tunes  and  whistle  them  to  the  present  time,  perhaps.  But 
what  discipline  or  development  was  attained  by  singing. 

"  Connecticut,  Hartford  and  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  Hartford  and  New  Haven." 

It  does  not  take  much  Common  Sense  to  discover .  that 
such  hobgoblin  performances  don't  do  much,  in  favor 
either  of  knowledge  or  virtue. 

Grammar  and  Mental  Arithmetic  are  too  often  hobby- 
ridden.  But  of  all,  the  last  and  worst  ridden  is  "Object 
Lessons.  "  In  another  connection  1  will  show  you  that  every 
good  teacher  from  the  Great  Teacher,  down,  has  found  "objects" 
such  as  materials,  machinery,  apparatus,  cabinets,  incidents 
and  accidents  indispensable  to  his  success  in  every  depart- 
ment; but  " Object  Lessons"  as  object  lessons  in  the  rigma- 
role of  the  imported  '-Training  Schools"  is  too  great  an  offense 
to  Common  Sense  to  tickle  the  public  love  of  humbuggery 
much  longer. 

Nov  turning  the  grindstone,  and  possibly  the  creaking  of 
(lie  gudgeon  are  necessary  to  the  sharpening  of  the  axe. 
"Teaching  object  lessons,"  is  too  much  like  applying  the  edge 
of  the  axe  to  the  grindstone  for  the  benefit  of  the  turning 
and  the  creaking.  Why,  my  father,  Josiah  Holbrook,  had  thou- 
sands of  children  in  Boston  and  New  York,  engaged  in  col- 
lecting cabinets  of  common  and  uncommon  things  and  study- 
ing natural  science  in  a  natural  system,  thirty  years  ago.  He 
invented  and  introduced  Holbrook's  apparatus  into  thousands 
of  schools  and  thus  hundreds  of  thousands  of  children  were 
taught  science  pratlcally  and  were  led  to  develop  their 
perceptive  and  reflective  faculties,  as  well  as  their  physical 
energies. 

But  object  lessons  have  come  from  Europe  since,  and  since 
Barnum  took  the  lead  in  importing  similar  articles  for  a 
nine  days'  wonder. 

Don't  be  alarmed,  I  have  over  a  dozen  object  lesson  books, 
and  several  sets  of  object  lesson  cards,  in  my  posession,  and 
think  "I  know  whereof  I  affirm." 

Do  not  suppose  I  wish  to  decry  the  use  of  objects  of  any 


10  LECTURE   I. 

kind  as  means  of  illustration,  instruction  and  development 
In  a  future  lecture  I  will  endeavor  to  show  that  they  are 
iudisensable  in  greater  variety  and  utility  than  many  trained 
object-lesson  teachers,  ever  dreamed  of,  to  any  effective  course 
of  instruction. 

VII.  Common  Sense  will  indicate  itself  in  not  talking 
too  much. 

Excessive  talking  in  the  way  of  explaining,  and  lecturing, 
is  a  too  common  fault  of  good  teachers,  or  of  those  who 
might  be  good  teachers,  if  controlled  by  Common  Sense  in 
this  particular.  If  you  have  the  "gift  of  gab,"  hold  on  to  it, 
and  develop  the  power  of  expression  in  your  pupils- -hold  oiii 
I  say,  though  it  be  with  a  double-purchase  bit  You  not  only 
waste  your  own  energies  by  so  much  talk,  but  repress  and  par- 
alyze all  ambition  in  your  scholars.  I  say,  hold  on  with  a 
double  bit,  with  a  gag,  and  if  that  won't  do,  place  a  slip-noose 
around  your  neck  and  engage  some  one  to  tighten  it  for  you 
when  necessary.  Do  you  know  that  a  lazy  teacher  does 
nearly  all  that  is  done  in  his  school  ?  The  lazier  the  teacher 
the  more  he  talks.  The  more  energetic  and  efficient  the 
teacher,  the  less  he  talks,  within  certain  limits,  and  the  more 
cheerful  work  will  he  draw  out  his  scholars. 

If  there  is  any  preference,  the  teacher  who  asks  the  ques 
tions  by  the  book,  and  marks  the  special  words  for  his  scholars 
to  memorize  for  answers,  is  better  than  the  lecturing  teacher, 
for  the  former  furnishes  something  for  pupils  to  do.  The 
teacher  who  consumes  the  time  of  his  pupils  in  talk,  will 
make  them  more  stupid  and  lazy  from  day  to  day.  The 
scholars  may  think  and  declare  him  a  great  teacher,  a  very 
learned  man,  but  the  result  of  his  great  learning  used  in  this 
manner,  will  be,  that  his  scholars  will  lose  all  ambition  in 
study  if  they  ever  had  any,  and  his  school  will  diminish  in 
numbers  from  term  to  term. 

VIII.  Common  Sense  will  exhibit  itself  in  not  being  too 
zeaious  in  sectarianism. 

Every  teacher,  more  than  any  other  man  or  woman,  should 
be  a  living,  working,  consistent  Christian.  The  spirit  of  a 
trusting  believer  should  evince  itself  at  all  times;  but  to  be  a 


SCHOOL,   MANAGEMENT.  11 

Methodist,  and  simply  a  Methodist,  a  red-hot  Methodist,  and 
use  all  his  influence  to  bring  everybody's  children  into  the 
Methodist  Church,  will  not  even  promote  Methodism.  I  do 
not  speak  of  the  Methodists  because  I  think  them  zealots 
above  all  others;  the  Methodist  Church  if  we  Judge  by  the 
extent  of  its  usefulness,  is  one  of  the  best.  But  the  same 
may  be  said  of  Quakers,  or  Presbyterians,  or  zealots  of  any  other 
denomination.  I  have  spoken  of  the  Evangelical  Churches.  If 
this  course  is  bad  and  even  here  works  against  the  teacher's  in- 
terest, against  the  true  interests  of  education,  and  religion ;  how 
much  worse  is  it  to  work  for  skepticism,  or  Universalism,  where 
Universalism  is  more  feared  than  skepticism.  So  I  say  com- 
mon sense  will  guide  us  in  this  matter.  If  I  am  a  Methodist 
I  will  not  use  my  influence  to  persuade  my  scholars  to  become 
Methodists;  or  if  I  am  a  Presbyterian  or  Baptist,  I  will  not  be 
disappointed  and  vexed  because  all  my  scholars  do  not  be- 
come Presbyterians  or  Baptists ;  but  if  I  have  any  influence, 
in  this  way,  I  will  exercise  it,  so  that  the  children  will  go 
witli  their  parents,  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 

IX.  Again,  Common  Sense  will  indicate  itself  in  not 
permitting  yon  to  work  in  bad  air. 

The  ceiling  of  most  school-rooms  is  too  low.  The  ceiling 
of  this  room  is  low  enough — about  eighteen  feet;  but  your 
school-rooms  are  not  more  than  two-thirds,  or  one-half  as 
high  as  this,  and  sometimes,  basement  of  churches  are  used, 
especially  for  select  schools.  Now,  suppose,  Teacher,  you  are 
six  feet  two  inches,  and  your  ceiling  but  seven  feet  from  the 
floor,  what  kind  of  air  will  you  necessarily  breath  in  such  a 
place?  If,  in  violation  oi  common  sense,  you  occupy  such  a 
room  you  will  lose  your  interest  in  your  work,  impair  your 
health,  be  likely  to  break  down  with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs, 
before  a  year  has  elapsed.  Were  I  a  physician,  I  would  tell 
you,  "If  your  countenance  is  florid  now,  if  you  are  plump  and 
fair,  that  you  will  be  much  more  likely  to  suffer  than  if 
somewhat  thin  and  bony,"  but  in  any  case,  whether  plump  or 
puny,  lair  or  faded,  pure  air  is  cheap  and  plenty,  and  you  are 
silly,  yes,  not  over  cleanly,  if  you  will  suffer  yourself  to  breath 
the  putrid  exhalations  which  have  been  breathed  over  and  over 
by  each  of  your  fifty  pupils.  Think  how  you  would  like  to 


12  LECTURE  I. 

eat  food  that  has  gone  through  as  many  mouths,  with  this  dif- 
ference in  its  favor,  that  it  was  not  poisoned  in  its  transit. 

X.  Again  Common  Sense  will  indicate  itself  in  not 
working  in  dishonesty. 

The  Teacher  has  some  peculiar  temptations  to  act  dishon- 
estly His  scholars  expect  him  to  know  more  than  others; 
they  may  think  he  ought  to  know  almost  everything.  Bui  il 
he  lacks  a  proper  knowledge  of  what  he  is  to  teach  il  will  be 
discovered  soon  enough.  You  will  find  none  but  Ihe 
veriest  quack  or  the  most  hopeless  ignoramus  to  claim 
that  he  knows  everything.  Such  men  as  Newton  and  Agassiz 
are  the  ones  who  most  frequently  say,  "I  don't  know."  If 
when  questions  arise  which  you  are  unable  to  answer,  you 
are  accustomed  to  put  the  pupils  off,  by  some  evasion  or 
other,  you  may  be  assured  that  they  will  ever  have  difficulties 
ready  to  spring  upon  you,  and  behind  your  back  laugh  at  your 
simplicity.  Now,  the  best  way  is  to  own  up,  and  say  "  This 
is  new  to  me,  I  will  take  time  to  examine  it  and  I  hope,  *pu- 
pils,  you  will  do  the  same,  and  we  will  call  up  the  matter 
to  morrow.  If  I  should  forget  it,  you  must  not.  Bring  it  up  at 
the  beginning  of  the  recitation  so  that  it  may  not  be  passed 
over." 

XL  Again,  Common  Sense,  will  indicate  itself  in  not 
scolding. 

This  is  the  last  point  I  shall  present  in  this  lecture.  I  don't 
know  that  there  is  any  need  of  discussing  this  point.  So  far 
as  you  are  concerned  I  suppose  you  are  well  satisfied  as  to  the 
virtues  of  scolding.  If  there  are  any,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
and  any  one  of  you  thinks  that  a  pupil  can  be  benefited  by 
scolding,  let  him  raise  his  hand.  On  some  fitting  occasion  1 
will  try  it  on,  and  we  will  see  how  you  like  your  own  pre- 
scription. Suppose  some  day,  I  am  very  much  provoked 
and  agitated,  and  I  yield  to  this  habit;  the  next  day  before 
going  to  school,  I  would  declare  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  and  a 
good  conscience  "whatever  I  do,  or  do  not  do  to-day,  I  will  not 
use  a  cross  word  to  my  scholars.  I  will  lay  my  neck  under  their 
feet,  but  I  will  not  scold." 

These  are  some  of  the  points  in  which  common  sense  will 
indicate  itself  in  the  true  teacher.  And  I  am  now  perhaps 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  1& 

justified  in  the  position  taken,  that  common  sense  is  as  mucln 
needed  in  our  profession  as  in  any  other;  nay  more  needed  than, 
in  any  other.  Furthermore  I  wish  to  reiterate  that  any  per 
son  who  has  common  sense  enough  to  succeed  amid  the  dif- 
ficulties and  responsiblities  of  a  common  country  school 
will  succeed  in  any  business  to  which  he  may  desire  to  turn 
his  attention.  The  successful  common  school  teacher  can  ac- 
complish anything  under  Heaven,  that  his  good  sense  will  per- 
mit him  to  aspire  to.  If  he  does  not  manage  a  school  well,  he 
ought  not  expect  to  succeed  in  any  other  profession,  he  may 
succeed  possibly  as  a  day  laborer.  He  may  not  have  as  large 
powers  of  mind,  as  some  others,  but  if  he  has  mind  enough, 
energy  enough,  perseverance,  and  moral  character  and  influ- 
ence enough  to  meet  the  difficulties  arising  from  a  common 
district  school  of  fifty  or  sixty  scholars,  if  he  can  make  his 
school  attractive,  if  he  can  harmonize  all  the  discordant  ele- 
ments in  the  children  and  young  people  of  his  district,  and 
gradually  but  certainly  bring  a  good  moral  atmosphere  into- 
the  neighborhood,  he  has  power  to  accomplish  a  work  that 
angels  might  aspire  to  What  good  teacher  will  iesire  to  do 
less  ? 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


LECTURE  II. 

SECOND  QUALIFICATION.    KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE 

BRANCHES. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  shall  this  morning  consider  tho 
Knowledge  of  the  Branches  as  the  second  qualification  of  tho 
teacher,  for  School  Management. 

How  TESTED. 

You  are  aware  that  this,  the  only  qualification  tested  by 
the  County  School  Examiners,  is  the  leaet.  important  and  least 
indicative  of  skill,  in  developing  and  controlling  your  pupils. 
A  person  may  be  eminently  qualified  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
branches,  yes,  profoundly  erudite  in  all  the  branches,  and  yet 
flack  aptness  to  teach,  and  be  entirely  destitute  of  power  to 
manage  either  himself  or  others.  Bookworms  are  not  gen- 
erally noted  for  business  tact,  a  trait  so  necessary  to  success 
an  school  management. 

You  ask,  How  can  examinations  reach  this  most  neccssaiy 
qualification  ? 

I  answer,  Let  us  have  a  town  superintendency ;  in  every 
town  a  superintendent,  who  will  visit  the  schools  and  exam- 
ane  the  teachers  at  their  work.  A  county  superintendency 
would  do  something,  but  each  town  needs  a  superintendent, 
as  much  as  each  school-house  of  a  dozen  rooms,  in  Cincinnati, 
needs  a  special  superintendent,  aside  from  the  general  super- 
intendency of  the  entire  school  system  of  the  citj . 
14 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT  15 

THE  KIND  OF  KNOWLEDGE  NECESSARY. 

I  huve  spoken  of  a  knowledge  of  the  branches  as  of  the 
least  importance,  and  yet  it  is  indispensable.  Furthermoie, 
it  is  a  crime,  in  my  estimation,  for  a  person  to  attempt  to 
teach  any  branch  he  does  not  himself  understand. 

lie  must  not  only  understand  the  branch,  but  must  l«>ve 
it;  not  only  for  the  satisfaction  it  yields  him  in  studying  it, 
but  for  the  delight  it  enables  him  to  impart  to  his  pupils 
tin  on gli  its  instrumentality. 

You  will  grant  that  the  teacher  who  does  not  understand 
Arithmetic  himself  will  never  lead  his  pupils  to  understand 
:t;  but  I  say  the  teacher  who  does  not  love  Arithmetic  is 
unfit  to  teach  it;  for,  without  such  appreciation,  he  will  not 
be  likely  to  arouse  any  enthusiasm  for  that  branch  in  the 
minds  of  those  under  his  instruction. 

You  have  seen  the  influence,  I  suppose,  of  teachers  who 
had  a  dislike  for  Grammar.  We  see  it  here  in  our  grammar 
classes,  in  almost  every  degree,  amounting  in  some  cases  even 
to  aversion  and  contempt.  Yet  it  is  frequently  our  privilege 
to  overcome  such  prejudice  and  to  hear  our  pupils  say,  "I 
never  liked  Grammar  before.  I  didn't  know  that  there  was 
BO  much  in  it."  You  understand,  then,  that,  in  my  opinion, 
unless  you  take  satisfaction  in  investigating  its  principles,  in 
mastering  its  difficulties,  and  in  applying  its  utilities,  you  can 
never  teach  any  branch  well. 

But,  some  one  present  objects,  "I  never  could  understand, 
I  have  no  natural  gift  for  Arithmetic,  and  I  do  n't  see  how  I 
can  ever  like  it;  yet  I  will  have  to  teach  it,  if  I  teach  at  all." 

Now,  my  friend,  I  admit  you  may  have  no  very  remarka- 
ble ability  in  Mathematics.  You  may  have  a  perfect  dread 
of  it;  yet  you  can  obtain  a  positive  relish  for  it,  and  take 
real  delight  in  teaching  it.  Do  you  ask,  "How?" 

I  answer,  The  difficulty  is  not  so  much,  after  all,  in  natural 
inability  as  in  acquired  prejudice;  and  I  will  try  to  tell  you 
How  you  can  overcome  both. 

Make  Arithmetic  your  leading  study;  give  it  your  best 
hours,  your  most  diligent  and  earnest  attention  ;  make  it  cost 
you  something.  Do  not  imagine  the  labor  of  a  week,  or  of 


16  LECTURE    II. 

a  month,  will  entirely  overcome  your  inability  or  your  prej- 
udice. Tins  can  be  done  only  by  the  most  determined  and 
persistent  efforts,  and  by  making  each  partial  failure  a  step- 
ping stone  to  a  higher  success. 

But,  just  in  proportion  to  your  former  aversion,  just  and 

n  so  far  as  it  costs  you  labor  and  self-sacrifice  to  overcome 

the  difficulties,  just  in  the  same  proportion,  if  you  pursue  the 

plan   proposed,   will  you   eventually    value   Arithmetic,   and 

delight  in  teaching  it. 

This  blessed  law,  "  What  costs  much  is  worth  much,  and 
what  costs  little  is  worth  little,"  is  incorporated  in  our  mental 
and  moral  constitutions.  I  will  give  a  few  examples  to  illus- 
trate it. 

A  Methodist  Presiding  Elder,  residing  in  our  town,  in 
Northern  Ohio,  had  an  interesting  family,  except  one  child 
almost  helpless  and  imbecile,  requiring  the  constant  care  and 
attention  of  the  mother.  The  boy  was  eight  years  old  when 
I  first  knew  him.  It  may  well  be  supposed  that  this  child 
had  cost  his  mother  more  labor  and  anxiety  than  all  the  other 
six.  The  report  came  one  day  that  the  child  was  sick  an<J 
likely  to  die.  1  felt  thankful,  and  said  so.  He  died ;  and 
do  you  suppose  that  mother  was  thankful  that  she  was  re- 
lieved of  such  a  burden?  such  a  constant  and  exhausting 
care?  I  have  seen  mothers  grieve  for  their  darlings  so  full 
of  promise,  snatched  from  their  fond  embrace,  but  never  did 
I  see  mother  grieve  as  this  one.  An  extreme  case,  you  say. 
So  say  I;  and  it  illustrates  my  posicion  all  the  better. 

There  is  the  old  Nutmeg  State,  in  which  I  was  born,  that 
had  an  immense  income  for  educational  purposes,  by  grant 
of  Congress,  enough  to  pay  a  fair  tuition  fee  for  every  child 
in  the  State. 

What  was  the  result?  Education  was  more  backward, 
school  privileges  more  neglected  there  than  in  any  other 
Eastern  State. 

Massachusetts,  on  the  other  hand,  never  had  a  school  fund, 
but  taxed  herself  annually  and  adequately,  and  has  rJivays 
had  the  most  efficient  school  system  in  America,  perhaps  in 
the  world. 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT  17 

There,  school  privileges  cost  something,  aud  were  worth 
something. 

But  I  have  another  example  in  mind,  more  directly  m 
point.  One  of  the  best  teachers  in  this  State,  who  has  at- 
tained to  the  first  position  in  the  State,  was  naturally  less 
gifted  in  mathematics,  I  judge,  than  any  one  before  me.  I 
have  been  told  that  from  Mental  Arithmetic  upward,  through 
Written  Arithmetic  and  Algebra,  he  wrote  out  the  solutions 
as  obtained  from  his  teachers  or  fellow  pupils,  and  preserved 
them  for  future  use  in  teaching.  I  have  heard  him  say  that 
he  never  had  but  one  teacher  that  had  patience  with  his 
dullness.  By  dint  of  perseverance  and  a  good  purpose,  how- 
ever, he  became  noted  for  his  skill  and  success  in  teaching 
Arithmetic.  He  succeeded  marvelously  in  interesting  slow 
minds,  and  in  many  cases  where  better  and  quicker  mathe- 
maticians had  failed.  So,  teachers,  do  not  be  discouraged. 
It  matters  little  where  your  disqualification  lies,  whether  in 
Arithmetic,  Algebra,  Grammar,  or  Latin  ;  just  where  you 
think  nature  has  done  the  least  for  you,  there  resolve  to  do 
the  most  for  yourself;  and  in  due  time  you  will  feel  that  you 
love  no  branch  so  well,  and  that  in  no  other  branch  you  have 
the  same  amount  of  power  to  inspire  and  bless  your  pupils. 

THIRD   QUALIFICATION.     TEACHING  TOWER. 

I  pass  now  to  another  qualification  in  school  management, 
the  power  of  teaching. 

As  no  school  can  be  well  managed  which  is  not  well 
taught,  I  shall  dwell  somewhat  at  length  on  this  qualifica- 
tion. Correct  management  must  be  based  on  mutual  respect 
of  scholars  and  teachers;  and  permanent  respect  can  be  se- 
cured only  as  the  teacher  can  benefit  his  pupils,  and  convince 
them  of  the  fact. 

ANALYSIS  OF  TEACHING  POWER. 

In  order  that  you  may  better  understand  what  I  mean  by 
the  Teaching  Power,  I  shall  attempt  what  no  one' hitherto  has 
done,  so  far  as  I  know — an  analysis  of  this  power. 

2 


18  LECTURE   II. 

FIRST  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHING  POWER.     SECURING  ATTENTION. 

The  first  clement  is  the  power  .  of  securing  attention 
during  recitation;  the  power  of  arresting  and  maintaining 
the  persistent  attention  of  every  pupil  in  the  class,  not  of  the 
brightest  and  best  only,  but  of  the  dullest  and  worst;  those 
\\ho  before  have  been  heedless,  stupid,  indolent,  wayward, 
sensual,  brutal,  or  devilish;  children  of  butchers,  tavern 
keepers,  doggery  men,  and  sucli  like.  It  is  a  pupil  of  one 
of  these  kinds  that  you,  teacher,  will  desire  to  win  over. 
Always  take  the  worst  one  in  the  class,  and  strive  to  arouse 
him,  not  by  frowns  and  censure,  but  by  your  own  magic  skill 
and  heartfelt  goodness  in  his  behalf.  Why,  that  pupil  can 
not  withhold  his  attention,  he  can  not  avoid  being  interested 
when  he  once  feels  that  you  are  interested  in  him.  lie  has 
always  before  been  the  fool  or  the  devil  of  the  school ;  and 
now  he  is  astonished  to  discover  that,  in  your  opinion,  he  is 
neither  fool,  brute,  nor  devil,  but  one  whom  you  can  regard 
with  interest  and  consideration.  Again,  teacher,  you  will  not 
be  satisfied  with  holding  the  attention  and  interest  of  your 
pupils  while  in  the  class  merely.  Your  power  must  go  beyond 
the  recitation  seat.  It  must  arouse  such  an  eager  attention 
and  such  an  increasing  interest  as  shall  carry  the  pupil,  as  if 
spontaneously,  to  prepare  himself  for  the  next  recitation.  It 
does  not  require  a  teacher  to  interest  a  class  during  recitation; 
a  mere  lecturer  can  do  that.  I  shall  endeavor  to  show,  in  a 
subsequent  lecture,  how  almost  any  teacher  of  fair  abilities  and 
honest  purpose  can  accomplish  what  I  have  here  indicated. 

SECOND  ELEMENT  IN  TEACHING  POWER.     POWER  OF  ANALYSIS. 

Analysis  is  becoming  a  very  vague  term.  In  this  case, 
liowever,  it  has  a  definite  signification,  viz. :  a  thorough  and 
searching  investigation  of  the  subject  you  are  teaching.  Not 
such  as  you  can  obtain  from  any  one  book,  but  such  only  as 
can  result  from  comparing  many  books,  the  latest  and  best 
on  any  given  subject.  Such  an  investigation,  if  you  have  the 
power  of  analysis  I  speak  of,  will  make  you,  in  a  large  meas- 
ure, independent  of  books,  for  from  each  authors  stand-point 
you  will  perceive  the  elements  for  which  you  are  in  search ; 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT  19 

and  reducing  and  harmonizing  these  perceptions,  you  will 
gain  a  more  distinct  and  glowing  conception  than  any  author 
has  himself  had,  perhaps.  Not  only  so,  hut  more  correct; 
for  error  will  be  eliminated  by  the  process,  the  elements  will 
fitaud  forth  in  all  the  beauty  and  power  of  their  relations  aud 
uses. 

Relations  and  uses,  I  say,  for  all  useful  knowledge  is  a 
knowledge  of  relations 

First  Example.     The  Watch. 

For  illustration,  let  us  take  a  watch  to  pieces,  as  I  suppose 
any  one  of  you  can,  and  notice  the  parts  or  elements,  the 
plates,  pillars,  wheels,  springs,  etc.,  and  learn  their  names 
carefully.  Now,  can  we  put  them  together  so  that  the  watch 
will  keep  time?  Probably  not.  "Why?  "We  have  not  learned 
the  relations  of  the  parts  to  each  other,  and  their  respective 
uses  in  accomplishing  the  object  of  the  watch.  In  fact,  we 
might  memorize  all  these  relations  and  uses  from  a  book  and 
then  be  as  great  bunglers  as  before. 

So,  more  than  books  or  comparison  of  books  is  necessary, 
then,  to  accomplish  that  kind  of  analysis  of  any  subject  re- 
quired by  the  true  teaching  power. 

Second  Example.    Decimal  Fractions. 

I  wish  to  show  what  analysis  is  by  one  more  example. 
Most  of  you  studied  Decimal  Fractions  in  the  iirst  place,  as 
I  did,  I  suppose.  You  thought  Vulgar  Fractions  a  very 
"hard"  rule,  and  often,  confused  and  perplexed  by  its  in- 
Iricacies,  you  were  stalled  in  solving  the  examples;  but  when 
you  came  to  Decimal  Fractions  you  thought  them  very 
"  eaoy,"  and  wondered  "  why  so  easy  a  rule  should  come 
after  such  a  hard  one." 

Now,  all  this  was  from  want  of  analysis  on  the  part  of  your 
teacher,  who  had  neither  analyzed  nor  arranged  in  his  own 
mind  the  elements  of  either  class  of  fractions.  Had  he  done  so, 
and  piesented  them  properly,  you  would  have  found  Decimal 
Fractions  much  the  most  difficult  subject,  as  it  embraces  all 
the  principles  of  Common  Fractions  and  others  combined  with 


20  LECTURE    II. 

them,  thus  increasing  their  complexity  and  the  difficulty  of 
managing  them. 

And  even  now  it  is  possible,  perhaps,  that  I  might  give 
this  excellent  class  of  teachers  examples  in  Decimal  Fractions 
which  not  one-half  of  you  could  write,  to  say  nothing  of  per- 
forming other  operations  which  might  he  required  in  their 
solutions  or  demonstrations. 

But  I  trust  your  teachers  in  this  institution,  from  tiie 
clear  light  of  their  own  analysis,  will  not  only  make  every 
principle  and  process  perfectly  transparent,  but  will  impart  to 
you  the  power  of  this  analysis  in  every  department  of  Arith- 
metic, that  you  may  carry  it  into  your  own  schools.  I  cer- 
tainly would  not  have  you  go  from  here  and  teach  as  you  and 
I  were  taught,  merely  skimming  the  surface,  and  never  reach- 
ing the  real  difficulties  nor  appreciating  the  true  beauties  of 
any  subject. 

THIRD  ELEMENT.    SKILL  IN  SYNTHESIS. 

Synthesis  is  a  Greek  derivative,  and  signifies,  etymolo- 
gically,  putting  together.  In  this  connection,  however,  it 
signifies  the  arrangement  of  the  elements  of  a  subject  for  the 
purpose  of  instruction.  When  there  is  any  method  recognized 
by  the  teacher  or  by  the  text-book,  there  will  be  one  of  two, 
viz. :  the  Logical  and  Dydactic,  or  Natural.  These  two 
methods  will  be  explained  and  exemplified  by  the  Teacher 
of  Natural  Sciences,  at  another  time  and  place,  and  for  this 
reason  I  will  not  elaborate  the  subject  here.  * 

FOURTH  ELEMENT.    POWER  OF  DISTINCT  AND  CLEAR 
APPREHENSION. 

This  power  results,  almost  necessarily,  from  the  previous 
elements  of  the  Teaching  Power;  yet  they  may  be  possessed 
in  a  high  degree,  and  this  in  a  low  degree.  This  power  de- 
pends on  a  lively  imagination.  Have  you  ever  read  Thorns 3n'a 
Seasons?  If  not,  I  beg  you  do  so  at  the  first  convenient  op- 
portunity. You  will  see  how,  in  describing  some  of  the  most 
common  scenes,  he  makes  them  glow  with  life  and  beauty  ; 
and  you  idealize  them  in  your  imagination  more  vividly  than 

*This  explanation  is  found  in  this  Number  of  NATIONAL  NORMAL,  p.  69. 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT  21 

you  ever  realized  them  in  your  experience.  The  teachei^ 
needs  the  poet's  power,  then.  And  you,  teachers,  must 
possess  this  clearness  of  apprehension  and  distinctness  ol 
conception,  intensified  by  an  excited  imagination,  before  you 
can  make  any  very  deep  or  lasting  impressions  on  the  minds 
of  your  pupils. 

It  is  a  necessary  part  of  our  business,  as  teachers,  to  strive 
for  an  increase  of  this  power  of  making  vivid  impressions,  in 
order  to  arouse  and  sustain  interest,  as  well  as  to  stimulate 
the  pupils  to  work  for  themselves. 

FOURTH  ELEMENT  OF  THE  TEACHING  POWER.    FACILITY  OF 

EXPRESSION. 

This  is  vulgarly  called  "  the  gift  of  gab."  The  gift  of  gab 
and  facility  of  expression,  as  an  element  of  teaching  power 
are  not  identical.  The  one  is  a  mere  flow,  a  diarrhea  oi 
words;  the  other  is  a  clear  and  cogent  form  of  expression. 
Words  well  chosen  are  "  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver." 
Very  few  have  this  power  as  a  natural  gift,  so  it  demands 
our  attention  here. 

Facility  of  Expression  consists  in  the  ready  use  of  accu- 
rately fitting  words,  suitably  arranged  in  sentences;  and, 
more  than  that,  in  the  selection  of  the  very  best  words  our 
language  affords  for  the  most  impressive  utterance  of  living, 
burning  thoughts. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  can  better  impress  my  meaning  than 
by  giving  this  historic  incident. 

Fox  and  Pitt  were  Parliamentary  leaders  in  the  time  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Fox  was  a  determined  tory.  Pitt, 
as  all  the  world  knows,  was  the  staunch  friend  of  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.  Mr.  Pitt,  in  reply  to  one  of  Mr.  Fox's  invec- 
tives, had  carried  the  house  by  storm  in  fa\or  of  the  colonies, 
and  his  measure  passed  almost  by  acclamation.  Mr.  Fox, 
mooting  him  soon  after,  and  congratulating  him  on  "the 
success  of  his  oratorical  effort,"  said,  "Mr.  Pitt,  I  have  been 
attempting  to  discover  the  secret  of  the  difference  between 
your  oratory  and  mine,  and  1  think  I  have  it."  "Well,  what 
is  it?  "  "  Why,  while  I  always  have  a  word,  you  always  have 
the  word." 


22  LECTURE  n. 

I  say,  then,  this  is  one  of  the  elements  that  we  must  culti- 
vate most  assiduously  for  the  highest  success  in  our  calling. 

A  teacher  can  never  be  too  ready ;  he  may  be  too  profuse, 
but  he  can  not  have  his  words  too  well  chosen,  too  forceful, 
or  too  accurate. 

There  is  a  man  in  a  million  that  has  the  power  of  giving 
a  new  coinage  to  words.  I  knew  one  such,  who,  grasping 
words  in  the  vise  of  thought,  stamped  them  with  his  own 
imperial  superscription,  the  royal  impress  of  a  new  signifi- 
cancy,  far  surpassing  what  the  same  words  possessed  elsewhere. 

Let  us,  then,  strive  to  reach  onward  toward  such  a  power. 
No  person  needs  it  so  much,  no  person  can  make  better  use 
of  it  than  the  teacher. 

FIFTH  ELEMENT.    FACILITY  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

This  being  the  rarest  of  all  elements,  as  a  natural  endow- 
ment, thus  far  enumerated,  and  the  one  most  generally 
neglected  or  abused,  it  needs  the  most  attention  and  labor 
in  its  development,  by  careful  and  constant  training  of  one'a 
self  and  one's  pupils.  The  almost  universal  neglect  to  whicb 
this  element  has  been  subjected  has  led,  undoubtedly,  to  the 
other  extreme,  "  object  lessons." 

ILLUSTRATIONS  CLASSIFIED. 

For  the  purpose  of  aiding  you  in  understanding  the 
workings  of  this  element  of  th.e  teaching  power,  I  shall 
divide  illustrations  into  four  classes,  viz.:  1.  Rhetorical ; 
2.  Scientific;  3.  Artistic;  4.  Practical. 

Classes  Explained  and  Exempli/led. 

1.  Rhetorical,  as  given  by  invention,  or  from  association 
of  ideas,  in  similes,  metaphors,  parables,  allegories,  anecdotes, 
stories,  etc. 

2.  Scientific,  as  given  by  real  objects  and  exp3riments,  in- 
cluding specimens,  apparatus,  manipulations,  cabinets,  labor- 
atories, etc. 

Examples  you  will  sec  in  any  institution  where  the  Nat- 
ural Sciences  are  properly  taught.  It  is  comparatively 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT  ^O 

with  a  good  apparatus  and  with  some  suitable  training  in  the 
use  of  it,  to  give  this  class  of  illustrations  to  your  pupils;  but, 
without  apparatus  or  skillful  training,  to  exhibit  scientific 
experiments  to  your  classes,  and  incite  your  pupils  to  make 
apparatus  for  themselves,  requires  a  style  of  genius  that  few 
eachers  possess.  But  this  has  been  done,  and  with  fine  effect, 
by  a  few  earnest,  ingenious  teachers. 

3.  Artistic.   These  are  made  with  the  crayon,  pencil,  graver, 
camera,  chisel,  etc.,  and  are  black-board  illustrations,  draw- 
ings, pictures,  statues,  wax  figures,  anatomical  preparations, 
manikins,  etc. 

You  see  examples  on  any  of  our  black-boards ;  of  another 
variety  in  last's  cartoons,  given  in  the  illustrated  weeklies; 
of  more  elaborate  character  in,  parlors,  art  galleries,  and 
anatomical  museums. 

4.  Practical.     I   may  give  a  practical  illustration   of  the 
force  of  gravity  by  dropping  this  chalk  on  the  floor;  or  of 
muscular  energy,  by  throwing  it  through  the  open  window. 

The  mechanic  teaches  his  apprentice  chiefly  by  this  kind 
of  illustration,  in  taking  the  tool  into  his  own  hand  and  doing 
skillfully  what  the  boy  is  doing  bunglingly.  I  suppose  you 
are  daily  witnesses  of  practical  illustrations  of  these  several 
elements  of  teaching  power,  as  exhibited  by  the  various 
teachers  of  this  institution. 

REMARKS  ON  THE  FACILITY  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

To  this  arrangement  and  explanation  of  the  different 
classes  of  illustration,  I  shall  add  a  few  general  remarks  on 
this  element  of  teaching  power,  viz. :  Facility  of  Illustration. 

1.  No  lazy  teacher,  nor  rote  teacher,  nor  quack  teacher 
will  be  likely  to  make  use  of  this  power,  even  if  he  should 
possess  it  as  a  natural  endowment. 

2.  Illustrations  have,  for  the  most  part,  hitherto  been  used 
in  the  advanced  classes  of  schools  and  colleges,  whereas  the 
least  advanced  classes  most  need  such  aids;  and  children  re- 
quire illustration  of  every  kind  immensely  more  than  adults; 
but  not  in  any  such  manner  as  will  prevent  independent  effort 
on  their  own  part,  as  "  object  lessons,"  to   a  large  extent, 
do.     In  fact,  object  lessons  are  too  much  like  stories  for  the 


24  LECTURE  II. 

sake  of  the  stories,  rather  than  for  the  illustration  of  the  sub- 
ject matter. 

A  sermon  made  up  entirely  of  random  stories  and  miscel- 
laneous anecdotes  would  be  one  kind  of  object  lesson,  and  quite 
as  useful  as  many  others,  now  in  vogue. 

By  the  proper  use  of  object  illustrations  I  have  known  a 
child  of  quite  ordinary  capacity  learn  to  read  intelligently 
and  intelligibly  from  a  few  lessons  of  ten  minutes  each  ;  while 
others  of  superior  quickness  were  hammering  away  with  their 
object-lesson  teacher  for  weeks  or  months,  and  making  no 
progress  save  as  the  teacher  passed  on  in  the  order  of  her  "  ob- 
ject lesson  book." 

3.  But,  friends,  what  teacher  was  that>  who  possessed  this 
power  of  illustration  in  such  an  unsurpassed  degree,  that  I 
faint  and  fail  before  him  ? 

It  is  my  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Study  the  parables : 
observe  the  ingenuity  and  power  of  his  object  lessons.  See, 
where  the  woman  was  before  him  "taken  in  the  very  act"  and 
the  effect  of  this  object  lesson  on  his  unwilling  pupils,  unteach- 
able  as  they  were.  With  what  inimitable  skill  does  he  ever 
meet  the  exigency,  penetrating  dullness,  arousing  stupidity, 
overcoming  obstinacy,  and  turning  subtility  against  itself,  and 
winning  his  pupils  both  to  hear  and  do  his  will.  Let  us  to- 
gether and  apart  entreat  the  Great  Master,  that  he  will  vouch- 
safe to  us,  his  humble  disciples  in  the  same  divine  art,  more 
and  more  of  that  spiritual  energy,  that  surpassing  skill  by 
which  he  so  successfully  taught  the  "hardest"  of  all  schools, 
the  unbelieving  Jews,  the  most  difficult  of  all  branches,  the 
Science  of  Salvation. 

SEVENTH  ELEMENT.  TACT. 

Now  conies  the  ruling  element,  the  sovereign  power 
energizing  and  controlling  all  the  rest.  It  is  Tact 

Need  enough  of  it,  when  we  consider  the  forces  to  be  met 
and  vanquished.  Arranged  in  order,  they  are  stupidity,  lazi- 
ness, mischief,  hoggishnes?,  whispering,  irregular  attendance, 
hostility  or  contempt  for  any  thing  useful  or  decent.  Seven 
divisions  and  each  a  host  trained  by  long  practice  into  almost 
invincible  habit. 


SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT.  20 

Now,  come  out  my  shepherd  boy,  not  against  Goliath,  but 
against  the  armies  of  the  Philistines.  Here  is  a  field  for  gen- 
eralship. 

What  are  yon,  teacher,  with  your  simple  weapons  without 
the  tact  to  forestall  and  baffle  such  an  array;  to  supplant 
this  old  sensual  dynasty,  by  a  new  and  spiritual  reign;  to 
neutralize  the  activity  of  Wrong,  by  infusing  the  energy  ot 
Right;  thus  winning  all  these  forces  from  self  destruction  to 
eelf  preservation,  to  perennial  life,  harmony  and  vigor  ? 

Not  only  is  it  necessary  for  you  to  cultivate  thus  all 
these  elements  in  yourself,  as  a  teacher,  but  to  make  diligent 
use  of  the  last  element,  Tact,  in  imparting  the  same  powers  to 
your  pupils.  Which  one  of  all  these  elements  must  not  a  suc- 
cessful business  man  possess  ?  to  say  nothing  of  your  em- 
bryo lawyers  and  ministers. 

But  you  will  probably  see  the  time,  teacher,  when  all  youi 
resources  will  seem  exhausted,  your  energy,  skill  and  strug- 
gling -will  appear  futile.  Then,  I  trust  you  will  find  the  same 
Power  that  guided  the  stripling  warrior,  the  same  Counselor 
(hat  the  Master  sought  all  night  long  in  prayer,  lives  still,  and 
that  he  will  prove  youi  willing,  waiting,  almighty  Deliverer. 


IF  yoaijg  men  come  to  this  institution  having  some  dissim- 
ilarity of  character,  (  want  them  to  be  allowed  to  retain  their 
individuality.  I  sympathize  with  all  my  heart  in  the  remarks 
made  concerning  aesthetic  culture.  But  if  a  young  man 
comes  here  with  the  lioc  in  him,  do  not  begin  to  pare  his 
nails, or  trim  his  mane,  or  tone  his  voice,  or  tame  his  spirit; 
but  let  his  claws  grow,  let  his  teeth  lengthen,  let  his  mane 
thicken,  let  his  eye  brighten,  let  his  thunder  deepen,  let  his 
spirit  wax  till  by  his  roaring  he  sends  terror  to  all  the  haunts 
of  wickedness,  and  dismay  to  all  the  dens  of  iniquity.  There 
is  just  as  much  that  is  aerthetic  in  the  lion  as  in  the  lap-dog. 
We  want  some  majesty,  some  sublimity  some  grajideur,  some 
glory,  as  well  as  beauty —  Bishop  Janes  (at  the  opening  of 
the  Drew  Theological  Seminary.) 


LECTURE  ON   SCHOOL .  MANAGEMENT 


LECTURE  III. 

FOURTH  QUALIFICATION.    GOVERNING  POWER. 
PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

THE  fourth  qualification,  and  the  most  difficult  of  all  to 
acquire  is  the  Power  of  Governing. 

It  may  well  be  considered  that  any  plan  of  civil,  school,  or 
family  government,  which  does  not  secure  the  hearty  ap- 
proval and  cheerful  co-operation  of  the  large  majority  of  the 
governed  is  essentially  wrong,  and  can  only  work  evil  results; 
in  the  school  and  family,  bad  moral  results,  inevitably.  This 
Governing  Power,  in  any  true  sense,  must  rest  ultimately  on 
the  principle  of  self-government;  for  what  responsible  agent 
can  be  satisfied  with  any  control  that  is  continually  crossing 
his  purposes,  arousing  opposition,  and  exciting  conflict,  in 
will,  or  act,  or  both? 

That  Governing  Power  which  every  truly  successful 
teacher  will  exercise,  or  at  least  will  aspire  after,  is  that  which 
will  most  enlist  the  generous  sympathies  and  win  the  earnest 
support  of  his  pupils.  Such  a  government,  with  the  most 
personal  freedom  to  the  governed,  will  secure  the  most 
thorough  self-control,  and  self-mastery,  for  good  and  noble 
purposes,  in-  school  life;  thus  giving  the  pupil  that  training 
during  school  life  which  beyond  comparison  will  be  the  most 
26 


SCHOOL        MANAGEMENT.  27 

potent  for  his  success  in  future  life,  whether  considered  from 
a  civil,  social,  or  religious  stand-point. 

In  my  last  lecture  I  gave  an  analysis  of  the  Teaching 
Power,  thus  affording  you,  teachers,  an  opportunity  of  testing 
yourselves  by  the  light  of  the  analysis,  as  possessing  or  not 
possessing  the  elements  described  and  exemplified.  But  it  is 
my  design,  in  this  lecture,  to  develop  the  nature  of  the  Gov- 
erning Power  in  an  entirely  different  manner,  viz. :  by  describ- 
ing some  of  the  most  common  forms  in  which  it  is  exercised, 
at  the  present  time,  in  our  various  schools  and  colleges.  This 
course  will  enable  me  to  characterize  some  of  the  sad  perver- 
sions of  authority,  in  school  government  and  college  rules, 
and  to  animadvert  on  the  gross  abuses  and  wide-spread  evils 
which  necessarily  result  from  the  false  views  and  theories  en- 
tertained by  the  majority  of  school-teachers  and  superintend- 
ents, College  Professors  and  Presidents.  This  method  of 
treating  my  subject,  the  Governing  Power,  will  perhaps 
afford  you  some  valuable  aid  in  making  out,  each  one  for  him- 
self, an  analysis  of  this  all  important  Teacher's  qualification. 
I  shall  call  for  these  analyses,  wrought  out  on  paper,  at  the 
next  lecture.  You  will  please  note  in  your  written  analysis 
the  true  elements  of  the  Governing  Power,  their  perversions, 
the  abuses,  and  evils  growing  out  of  these  perversions;  also 
the  false  elements  and  their  resulting  evils.  Determine,  too, 
as  far  as  you  are  able,  the  real  principles  underlying  a  good 
school  government;  and  yet  the  false  principles  and  their 
vicious  results. 

GOVERNMENT  BY  FORCE 

The  first  plan  of  school  government  which  I  here  intro- 
duce to  your  notice,  I  shall  denominate  the  Fj>RtfE  METHOD.  I 
BO  call  it,  not  that  force  excludes  every  other  element,  but  be- 
cause it  predominates  over  all  others,  and  is  chiefly  relied  on 
by  the  teacher  for  securing  order  and  propriety  in  deport- 
ment, as  well  as  diligence  and  progress  in  study. 

This  is,  I  apprehend,  by  far  the  most  prevalent  form  of 
school  government  now  practiced  in  our  General  Educational 
System.  Indeed,  it  is  the  only  plan  known,  or,  at  most,  con- 


28  LECTURE      HI. 

sidored  of  any  efficiency,  by  multitudes  of  School  Boards 
though  any  individual  Director  or  Trustee  is  always  inclined 
to  think,  whenever  force  is  applied  to  his  child,  that  it  ought 
to  have  beer.  af  some  other  time,  or  by  some  other  method; 
and  that  the  teacher  is  more  blameworthy  in  his  manner  of 
administering  the  punishment  than  \he  child  in  committing 
the  offense. 

While  few,  if  any,  judicious  teachers  entirely  discard  the 
idea  of  coercion  from  their  theory  of  School  Management, 
this  particular  plan  now  under  consideration  strives  to  correct 
all  evils,  and  stimulate  all  virtues  by  the  same  process,  variecf 
only  in  the  degree  of  intensity  to  meet  the  demands  of  any 
given  ca.;e. 

If  John  has  "played  hookey,"  and  the  teacher  finds  it  out, 
John  knows  what  to  expect 

If  Joseph  is  tardy,  without  a  note  from  his  parent,  (more 
commonly  written  by  some  older  pupil,)  he  understands  full 
well  the  nature  of  the  penalty. 

If  James's  uncontrollable  love  of  fun  gets  the  better  of  Kis 
fears,  the  Master's  voice  gives  no  uncertain  sound,  "Come 
up  here,  Jamrs,  I  've  got  to  ferule  you  again,  I  see.'' 

If  Willie's  idleness  has  prevented  his  learning  his  spelling 
lesson,  the  same  remedy  is  supposed  to  be  the  only  effectual 
one,  and  the  good  teacher  wonders  why  Willie,  naturally  so 
smart,  can  be  so  lazy;  and  really  fears  that  he  is  growing 
worse  and  worse,  in  spite  of  all  his  faithful  efforts  to  stimulate 
the  boy  to  any  kind  of  industry. 

If  Sarah  is  whispering,  and  repeated  reproof  has  been 
found  of  no  avail,  the  ferule  must  be  used ;  this  evil  must  be 
checked,  or  her  example  will  render  the  school  unmanage- 
able. 

If  Miranda  is  detected  playing  tit-tat-too  with  her  seat- 
mate,  when  they  ought  to  have  been  working  out  their 
Arithmetic  examples,  it  is  a  sad  instance  of  waywardness  and 
deception,  and  the  teacher  is  sorry,  very  sorry,  that  he  feels 
compelled  to  punish  such  large  girls,  almost  young  ladies;  but 
he  must  do  his  duty. 

If  a  dozen  or  twenty  of  the  large  boys  remain  on  the  ice 
skating  a  half  an  hour  after  « school  has  taken  up,"  the  an- 


SCHOOL      MANAGEMENT.  29) 

thoritv  of  the  teacher  must  be  vindicated,  the  rules  of  the* 
school  must  be  sustained,  and,  as  undesirable  a  piece  of  busir- 
ness  as  it  may  be,  the  boys,  in  equity,  must  all  be  punished,, 
•)very  offender,  severely  punished.  A  new  supply  of  hickories 
is  sent  for,  and  then  a  general  auto  dafe,  unless  the  boys-, 
conclude  they  can  whip  the  master — and  then  what? 

But  why  enumerate  further?  This  teacher  is  a  good  man, 
a  professor  of  religion,  reads  the  Bible  and  prays  in  his  school/ 
and  is  really  esteemed  where  he  is  best  known  for  his  many 
manly  qualities. 

His  scholars  do  not  hate  him ;  on  the  other  hand,  they 
rather  respect  him.  Most  of  them  give  him  credit  for  a  good 
degree  of  faithful  interest  in  their  behalf.  They  admit  among 
themselves,  sometimes,  "We  do  behave  too  bad,  and  I  am 
going  to  try  to  do  better,  arn't  you,  Bill  ?"  But  every  pupil  is 
glad  oi  an  excflse  to  stay  out  of  school  a  day  or  more.  They 
all  long  for  a  holiday,  and  count  the  days  to  the  end  of  the- 
term.  Any  one  is  rejoiced  if  he  can  say  that  he  doesn't  ex- 
pect to  attend  school  next  term;  and  he  is  not  a  little  envied! 
by  the  rest.  Teachers,  of  how  many  of  your  own  school  ex- 
perienees  is  this  a  true  picture  ?  If  not  true,  very  likely  it  ia 
because  it  is  too  favorably  drawn. 

Another  teacher  of  the  same  species,  but  of  different 
variety,  offers  exemption  from  certain  lessons  as  a  reward  for 
srood  behavior  during  a  prescribed  period,  and  occasionally 
a  half-holiday  to  those  who  "bring  all  their  recitations 
square  up,"  for  a  certain  length  of  time.  In  carrying  out 
the  same  views  he  imposes  extra  lessons  as  a  penalty  for 
absence,  tardiness,  idleness,  mischief,  or  any  other  infraction 
of  the  rules.  These  extra  lessons,  of  course,  are  extorted  by 
imprisonment,  "in  being  kept  after  school,"  and  by  the  use  of 
rod  or  ferule,  if  necessary. 

Now  look  at  it,  friends,  for  this  is  no  fancy  sketch,  but  the 
practice  of  thousand^,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  schools,  gene- 
rail}7  considered  well  conducted,  all  over  the  land,  in  cities, 
villages  and  country  districts.  In  fact,  it  is  virtually  the  plan  by 
which  most  of  our  Union  and  Graded  Schools  are  managed,  and 
the  requisite  per  cents  obtained  in  examinations.  Of  course, 
the  teacher  who  is  the  most  inexorable  in  his  demands,  the 


30  LECTURE      IlL 

most  persistent  in  making  a  prison  of  his  school,  and  a  jailer 
of  himself;  is  the  one  who  prides  himself  on  the  highest  per 
cents  for  his  scholars. 

But  tell  me,  teachers,  if  ingenuity  can  devise  a  course  of 
school  management  better  calculated  to  make  the  school- 
room repulsive  instead  of  attractive ;  the  school  duties  ;rk- 
some  instead  of  pleasant;  the  teacher  oppressive  and  hateful, 
instead  of  a  joy  and  a  pride.  I  say.  is  it  possible  to  conceive 
a  more  direct  and  certain  means  for  accomplishing  such  ends 
than  those  here  given  and  so  generally  practiced? 

Yes,  it  is;  unfortunately,  too  many  oi  these  teachers  who 
pursue  the  plan  of  government  by  force,  as  above-described 
too  often  lay  themselves  liable  to  the  charge  of  being  partial, 
peevish,  petulant^  passionate,  tyrannical  and  abusive. 

POLICE   SYSTEM. 

The  next  plan  of  school  management  that  I  shall  bring  to 
your  notice  is  the  Police  System.  This  system  exists  in  col- 
'eges,  academies,  and  normal  schools  ;  while  the  Force  System 
prevails  more  generally  in  both  graded  and  ungraded  schools, 
sustained  by  public  funds. 

As  most  academies  and  State  Normal  schools  derive  their 
principals  and  practices  from  colleges,  their  methods  of  gov- 
ernment and  instruction  are  but  college  methods  modified ; 
often  for  the  worse.  Colleges,  then,  being  the  chief  seats 
and  sources  of  the  police  system,  I  shall  confine  my  atten- 
tion to  the  workings  of  this  system  in  this  class  of  institutions 
where,  from  long  usage,  it  ought  to  work  well,  if  anywhere. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Police  System,  demands  certificates 
•of  good  moral  character  of  its  candidates  for  admission,  thus 
assuming  that  all  such  candidates  are  untrustworthy  and  sus- 
picious characters,  and  must  establish  the  contrary  by  certifi 
cates;  otherwise  they  are  excluded,  on  the  general  assumption. 
Some  colleges  do  not  receive  candidates,  even  on  certificates, 
to  full  membership;  but  in  addition,  require  the  young  man 
to  demonstrate  bV  a  six  weeks'  or  six  months'  probation  that 
he  is  not  a  blackleg  or  a  thief.  And  yet  it  is  just  this  class, 


SCHOOL      MANAGEMENT.  31 

if  any,  that  go  through  the  period  of  probation  without  ceri 
sure  or  particular  suspicion. 

How  much  better  would  it  be  to  receive  the  young  man 
cordially,  bestowing  on  him  full  confidence  that  he  comes 
with  a  good  purpose ;  and  if  anything  is  said  with  regard  to 
his  character  and  conduct,  that  it  should  be  something  like 

this: 

u  We  take  you  to  be  a  gentleman  and  give  you  our  confi- 
dence as  such.  We  ask  no  certificates.  Your  coming  to  this 
institution  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  you  aim  at  improve- 
ment, and  are  willing  to  make  a  determined  and  continued 
effort  in  that  direction.  We  intend  to  maintain  this  opinion 
of  you,  and  have  no  fear  that  you  will  ever  compel  us  to 
abandon  it  Indeed,  it  will  require  a  persistent  course  of 
wrong  doing  to  convince  us  that  our  present  opinion  is  not 
well  founded ;  and  this,  we  are  assured,  is  impossible  in  your 
case.  No  one  act,  scarcely,  will  do  it  We  are  all  human 
beings,  prone  to  err,  and  liable,  the  best  of  us,  to  do  wrong. 
You  will  not  expect  perfection  of  us,  and  surely  we  ought  not 
to  demand  it  of  you.  You  will  always  find  in  us  an  earnest 
purpose  to  promote  your  interests  and  your  personal  comfort^ 
to  aid  you  in  carrying  out  your  designs.  We  shall  also  inter- 
est ourselves  in  trying  to  help  you  to  correct  any  errors  or 
faults  that  may  develop  themselves,  on  closer  acquaintance, 
in  your  methods  of  study,  self  management^  or  otherwise.  We 
hope  you  will  always  feel  that  we  can  be  confided  in  as  safe 
counselors  and  as  personal  friends,  immeasurably  more 
anxious  to  keep  you  out  of  any  difficulty  than,  as  captious 
judges,  to  condemn  and  crush  you  for  errors,  faults,  or  offenses, 
of  any  kind  whatever." 

But  the  young  man  being  received  as  a  suspicious  charac- 
ter, and  realizing  that  he  is  watched,  and  conceiving,  perhaps, 
that  his  movements  are  dogged  by  some  one  of  the  professors, 
into  whose  particular  care  he  is  intrusted;  or  gathering,  sooner 
or  later,  the  idea  that  the  President  or  proctor  entertains  a 
special  dislike  for  him,  from  the  general  or  special  lectures  of 
which  he  well  imagines  himself  the  special  object,  he  places 
himselfj  as  a  matter  of  self-defense  and  self-protection,  in 
direct  antagonism  with  the  authority  of  the  college;  and  find- 


32  LECTURE      IIL 

\ng  this  the  dominant  feeling  with  a  large  class  of  the  most 
influential  students,  he  is  ready  to  avail  himself  of  every  op- 
portunity  to  defeat  any  measure  of  the  faculty,  or  to  join  in 
jiiots  and  intrigues  to  annoy  any  officer  or  teacher  particularly 
odious  to  him  or  his  clique,  even  while  he  admits,  perhaps, 
that  the  regulations,  restraints  and  precautionary  measures 
are  necessary  for  the  well-being  of  the  institution.  Why,who 
could  do  otherwise  ?  What  man,  woman,  or  child  is  not  indig- 
nant at  being  suspected,  watched,  dogged?  How  is  it  possi- 
ble that  any  friendly  feelings  can  exist  between  such  parties? 

I  have  said  nothing  here  of  the  practice  of  employing  stu- 
dents as  spies  or  detectives,  as  it  now  continues  but  in  few 
colleges,  so  far  as  I  know. 

But  then,  when  the  same  spirit  of  espionage  prevails  in 
every  class  room,  and  every  recitation  is  a  process  of  inquisi- 
tion, to  detect  shirks  and  shams,  and  to  mark  them,  how  can 
a  pupil  feel  otherwise  than  that  he  is  in  the  hands  of  enemies? 
How  can  he  but  consider  it  smart  to  outwit  the  professors,  and 
that  any  plan  he  can  adopt  to  get  through  a  recitation  and 
escape  open  censure  or  the  fatal  number  of  demerit  marks  is 
honorable,  and  a  fit  subject  of  exultation  among  his  fellow 
students?  The  less  honest  labor  he  bestows  on  his  studies 
the  smarter  he  conceives  himself  to  be,  and  the  more  he  brags 
of  his  success  in  playing  off  on  the  faculty.  Hence  come  the 
whole  list  of  college  expedients,  ponies,  concealment  of  writ- 
ten exercises  under  the  coat  sleeve,  extemporizing,  etc.,  etc 
College  boys  will  think  that  I  am  green;  I  don't  know  half  of 
their  tricks  and  contrivances.  Well,  I  admit  it;  I  also  admit 
that  animated  by  such  a  spirit,  they  succeed  to  a  large  extent 
in  avoiding  all  noble,  earnest  effort,  in  evading  all  thorough 
self  discipline,  in  suppressing  every  aspiration  for  a  pure  and 
manly  development,  in  defeating  every  laudable  purpose 
which  college  life  ought  to  foster  and  consummate. 

But  I  hold  the  college  management  responsible  for  all 
such  abuses.  The  whole  theory  and  plan  is  wrong  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  from  center  to  circumference.  What !  any  sys- 
tem right  or  to  be  tolerated  which  trains  any  one  of  its  sub- 
jects to  deceit,  evasion,  shirking,  meanness,  and  excites  all 


SCHOOL      MANAGEMENT.  33 

the  manly  forces  of  any  individual  to  their  own  perversion 
and  extinction? 

You  wish  me,  no  doubt,  to  propose  a  better  system.  I  in- 
tend to  do  so  in  due  time.  But  there  is  one  other  considera- 
tion that  should  not  be  omitted  in  this  picture.  Who  can  not 
see  that  if  any  student  resists,  surmounts  such  influences  both 
from  the  faculty,  in  arousing  opposition  and  conflict;  and  from 
his  fellow-students  in  exciting  sympathy  and  conspiracy,  that 
he  must  be  an  exceptional  character,  possessing  too  much  or 
too  little  of  the  material  that  other  men  are  made  of,  not  thus 
to  become  the  frequent  receptacle  of  various  vile  epithets 
well  known  in  college  life,  and  unfit  for  ears  polite,  as  well 
as  the  constant  object  of  tricks  and  annoyances  which  might 
otherwise  be  directed  towards  the  unpopular  members  oi 

the  faculty? 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  implying  that  all  col- 
leges, at  the  present  time,  practice  the  police  system  of  gov 
eminent  and  instruction,  exclusively;  but  that  too  many  of 
these  institutions  rely  on  it  to  too  great  an  extent;  whereas 
it  ought  to  be  entirely  abandoned  by  every  organization  and 
by  every  person  that  professes  or  desires  to  train  the  young 
to  noble  and  virtuous  action. 

I  am  perfectly  well  aware  that  poohs,  and  sneers,  and 
snulls  will  be  the  only  reply  that  many  a  college  man  will 
deign  to  offer  to  such  positions.  I  have  been  fortified  by  such 
{Arguments  these  many  years,  and  possibly  more  energized  in 
my  endeavors  to  discover  a  remedy  for  the  evils  which,  no 
one  of  them  pretends  to  deny,  exist,  more  or  less,  in  all  col- 
leges, and  oftentimes  to  the  extent  of  open  rebellion  and 
threatened  disorganization. 

But  there  are  two  fundamental  errors  in  the  College  Man- 
agement, one  in  the  plan  of  instruction,  the  other  in  the  plan 
of  government  Both  can  easily  be  generalized  into  one. 

Colleges,  for  the  most  part,  hold  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge as  their  principal  element  in  education,  and  the  attain- 
ment of  scholarship  as  their  highest  aim.  Thus  college  edu- 
cation begins,  continues,  and  ends  in  self. 

Whereas,  a  true  system  of  education  has  the  development 
of  power  as  its  principal  element  and  constant  aim.     What 
3 


34  LECTURE      III. 

power?  The  power  to  do  good;  more  definitely,  that  powei 
which  will  give  the  individual  the  highest  success  and  largest 
usefulness  in  that  profession  or  calling  to  which  he  shall  pre- 
fer to  devote  himself.  This  end  being  kept  in  view,  in  every 
recitation,  in  every  drill,  and  in  the  preparation  for  every  class 
J'jty  or  public  exercise  affords  a  stimulus  incomparably  more 
effective  than  the  possibility  of  the  highest  scholastic  attain- 
ment conceivable.  And  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  this 
object,  viz.:  the  development  of  power,  will  accomplish 
thrice  as  much  in  any  given  time,  for  the  majority  of  students, 
even  in  scholarship,  as  that  of  making  scholarship  the  direct 
aim.  Besides  this  radical  error,  there  is  also  the  police 
method  of  recitation  already  noticed,  consisting  chiefly  of  de- 
tecting errors  and  exposing  shams,  instead  of  giving  full 
scope  to  mental  activity,  by  encouraging  independent  and 
manly  effort  in  investigation,  generalization  and  free  discus- 
sion ;  thus  arousing  a  noble  emulation  in  the  right,  instead 
of  stimulating  a  mean  rivalry  in  the  wrong. 

Another  minor  error  in  the  police  system  of  instruction  is 
the  offering  of  prizes.  Who  does  not  know,  that  only  two  or 
three  in  a  class,  who  do  not  need  the  stimulus,  are  the  only 
ones  stimulated,  while  the  majority  are  sensibly  discouraged 
or  entirely  paralyzed  by  the  influence  of  a  prize?  But  prizes 
excite  every  mean  passion  in  the  rival  aspirants,  and  almost 
compel  them  to  practice  various  dishonest  expedients  in 
order  to  win. 

The  fundamental  error  in  college  government  is,  that  virtue 
can  be  secured  by  detecting  and  repressing  vice.  This  is 
monastici.sm,not  Christianity.  Christ  would  have  us  till  our 
hearts  so  full  of  noble  daring  and  aggressive  action  that  there 
Shall  be  no  time,  place  or  disposition  left  for  sinful  indulg- 
ence 

Teachers,  let  us  heed  our  great  Example,  strive  to  imitate 
him  in  our  glorious  work,  and,  catching  the  inspiration  our- 
selves, find  how  we  can  best  impart  it  to  our  pupils;  how  can 
we  most  surely  excite  in  them  a  spirit  of  glowing  enterprise, 
that  will  do  all  that  can  possibly  be  done  in  the  allotted  time, 
for  the  mastery  of  any  subject  assigned,  rather  than  tolerate  u 
spirit  of  reluctance,  complaining  that  the  lessons  are  too  hard 


SCHOOL      MANAGEMENT.  35 

or  too  long.     The  difference  is  that  of  mental  health  and  dis- 
ease, of  moral  life  and  death. 

Any  teacher,  in  any  institution,  that  cannot  arouse  such  a 
spirit  of  cheerful  labor  in  a  pupil,  as  will  overcome  his  natural 
laziness,  his  love  of  mischief,  and  his  tendency  to  animal  in- 
dulgence, is  so  far  as  that  pupil  is  concerned,  a  failure  ;  ira 
paiting  weakness  instead  of  strength,  willful  virulence  ii_- 
stead  of  manly  self-control  in  every  sensual  gratification. 
And  any  institution,  I  care  not  how  many  and  how  commo- 
dious its  buildings,  how  able  and  celebrated  its  Professors, 
I  care  not  how  extensive  and  well  selected  its  libraries, 
how  costly  and  well  adapted  its  laboratories,  how  ample  and 
well  arranged  its  museums,  how  well  stored  and  attractive 
its  art  galleries;  I  say  any  institution  which  can  not  excite 
in  any  pupil,  a  spirit  of  earnest  industry  and  enthusiastic  en- 
deavor in  legitimate  pursuits,  that  will  displace  his  lazy,  shirk- 
ing habits  and  evil  tendencies,  is  educating  that  pupil  in  vice 
instead  of  virtue,  for  future  evil  instead  of  good,  and  to  be  a 
curse  rather  than  a  blessing  to  himself  and  his  kind.  Such 
an  institution  and  such  a  pupil  ought  to  be  separated ;  and 
the  sooner  the  better.  How  many  colleges  or  academies  or 
normal  schools  act  on  this  principle  ? 

Kather,  is  it  not  true,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  stu- 
dents, in  nearly  all  the  colleges,  both  male  and  female,  take 
their  chief  pride  in  the  least  amount  of  labor  they  can  grudg^ 
ingly  bestow  in  accomplishing  the  "tasks"  or  lessons  assigned; 
while  not  a  few  make  it  their  special  boast  among  their  asso- 
ciates that  they  study  little,  if  at  all;  relying  on  subterfuges 
and  shams  of  endless  variety  and  exhaustless  ingenuity  to 
screen  themselves  from  censure  and  disgrace  ? 

PERSONAL  INFLUENCE  PLAN. 

The  next  plan  of  School  Government  I  shall  present  is  that 
of  pure  personal  influence. 

But  few,  I  apprehend,  can  succeed  on  this  plan.  It  requires 
a  combination  of  such  physical,  mental,  moral  and  social  en- 
dowments as  very  few  possess. 

It  is  so  to  govern  that  it  is  not  known  that  there  is  any 


36  LECTURE      III. 

government,  and  yet  harmony  prevails  in  all  purposes  a  .1 
practices,  resulting  from  the  one  all  controlling,  earnest, 
magic  influence  of  your  own  heart,  teacher. 

Have  you  ever  had  a  teacher,  whose  will  manifested  in  the 
gentlest  manner  was  the  all-pervading  power?  If  so.  you 
have  been  remarkably  fortunate.  Or  am  I  talking  of  an  ideal, 
that  never  has  been  reached?  Have  you  never  had  the  idea 
of  governing  without  governing,  order  and  diligence  being 
only  the  necessary  resultants  of  harmonizing  forces?  This  is 
my  ideal  of  school  government,  of  family  government.  It  is 
the  government  of  Heaven. 

Such  a  government  should  exist  in  one's  self  as  a  man,  a 
Christian,  a  teacher.  How?  Because  He  hath  loved  me, 
and  given  Himself  for  me.  How  blessed  the  assurance,  "I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  Continuing  this  line  of 
thought,  1  will  try  to  show  how  this  personal  influence  system 
works  in  governing  a  school. 

That  Christian  who  is  governed  by  the  fear  that  the  trans- 
gressed law  will  bring  penalty,  either  temporal  or  eternal,  is 
but  a  beginner  in  the  Christian  career.  "The  law  is  his 
schoolmaster,"  and  bringing  him  to  Christ  Now  let  us  fol- 
low that  same  Christian  till  he  has  attained  a  higher  purpose 
and  a  nobler  life.  These  lead  out  his  soul  in  admiration  and 
adoration,  and  elevate  the  man  above  wrong  purposes  and 
low  indulgences.  He  is  thus  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
fear  and  becomes  a  free  man  in  love  and  obedience.  Such 
are  Christ's  pupils. 

But  you  are  not  all,  I  fear,  trusting  and  praying  Christiana 
and  cannot  fully  realize  the  power  and  sweetness  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  school -of  Christ. 

For  such,  I  will  give  another  illustration.  There  are  laws 
on  the  statute  book  against  burglary  and  horse  stealing,  but 
what  do  you  care?  It  is  immaterial  to  you,  whether  the  pen- 
alty for  these  crimes  is  one  year  or  ten  in  the  penitentiary. 
In  fact,  I  doubt  whether'  there  is  a  person  here  that  knows 
what  the  penalty  is  for  these  crimes.  It  has  scarcely  ever 
occurred  to  one  of  you  that  there  are  such  laws.  You  are 
free  men  and  women  so  far  as  those  laws  are  concerned,  and 


SCHOOL      MANAGEMENT.  37 

a  noble  principle  of  right  keeps  you  free  from  the  fear  of 
transgressing  such  laws  and  of  the  penalty  annexed 

So  that  the  teacher  who  can  pour  his  pure,  loving  spirit 
into  the  hearts  of  his  pupils,  and  elevate  them  above  all  rules 
and  regulations  is  my  ideal,  and  the  Personal  Influence  Plan 
of  School  Government  is  that  plan  above  all  others  that  I 
would  aspire  after. 

Since,  however,  few  of  us  will  ever,  in  all  probability,  attain 
to  the  perfection  of  this  system,  it  becomes  common  mortals, 
like  ourselves,  to  adopt  a  plan  better  adapted  to  our  own 
moderate  powers,  and  reasonable  expectations. 

It  is  my  purpose  in  this  course  of  lectures  to  develop  such 
a  plan.  That  plan  I  shall  denominate  the  Normal  Method  of 
School  Management. 


Bar  far  graver  objections  than  these  exist  against  the  disciplinary  sys- 
tem proper  pursued  in  American  colleges.  The  conclusion  is  inevitable 
that  it  tends  directly  to  make  the  conduct  of  students,  in  their  relations 
with  the  faculty,  the  reverse  of  manly  and  honorable.  It  is  a  legal  pre- 
sumption that  a  suspected  man  is  innocent  until  the  contrary  is  proved  ;  but 
at  Cambridge,  at  least,  the  counter  presumption  generally  obtains.  It  may 
even  be  said  that  a  suspected  student  is  supposed  to  lie  until  he  proves  that 
he  speaks  the  truth.  The  result  is  as  natural  as  it  is  deplorable.  Espion- 
age is  met  by  cunning,  and  accusation  by  equivocation.  Every  graduate 
of  the  college  must  own  that  a  thoroughly  false  system  of  morality  is  pre- 
valent among  undergraduates  in  their  relations  with  the  faculty ;  that 
young  men,  otherwise  honorable,  are  too  often  to  be  found  whose  practice  be- 
fore a  faculty  meeting  is,  to  use  the  mildest  adjective,  sharp,  and  who  answer 
all  remonstrances  by  declaring  that  it  is  lawful  to  light  the  devil  with  fire. 
Students  and  instructors,  in  consequence,  come  to  regard  each  other  as 
natural  enemies,  and  thus  the  governors  and  governed  become  thoroughly 
antagonistic  bodies.  And  it  is  not  generally  until  the  lapse  of  time  has 
softened  old  asperities  that  graduates  begin  to  feel  that  affection  for,  and 
pride  in,  their  college  which  ought  from  the  beginning  to  be  the  strongest 
sentiment  of  college  life. 

The  NATION.     Correspondence  from  U.  8.  Naval  Academy. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL. — The  latest  and  most  readable  text-book  on  Physiological 
are  Huxley  &  Youman's,  and  Dalton's.  The  latter  was  reviewed  in  our 
last  number. 

TOWNSEND'S  work  on  the  Constitution,  reviewed  in  this  number,  though 
a  text-book,  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  work.  Every  one,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  should  possess  the  volume.  It  is  another  successful  effort  to 
release  school  books  from  the  incubus  of  technicalities.  We  hail  with  glad 
welcome  the  spirit  of  attractiveness  which  publishers  are  now  striving  to 
cast  over  their  new  school  publications. 


LECTURE  ON   SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

LECTURE    IV. 
FIFTH  QUALIFICATION,  LOVE  OF   THE  WORK. 

PRELIMINARY  -VIEWS. 


I  SHALL  proceed  to  discuss  the  fifth  qualification  of  the 
teacher,  as  characterizing  and  energizing  his  School  Manage- 
ment. It  is  the  last  of  the  list  of  essentials,  but  so  important 
do  I  deem  it,  that  I  shall  devote  two  lectures  to  its  consid- 
eration. 

It  is  a  proposition,  clearer  than  an  axiom  to  my  mind, 
that  no  person  ought  to  be  intrusted  with  the  responsibility 
of  molding  the  character  and  destiny  of  children  and  youth, 
who  does  not  realize  the  value  of  the  material  on  which  he 
works,  and  who  does  not  see  and  feel  the  tremendous  results 
for  good  or  evil  which  must  follow  his  labors. 

Such  being  the  fact,  I  hold  it  as  a  sad  desecration  of  \\i> 
office,  if  the  teacher  bestow  anything  less  than  his  best  efforts 
growing  out  of  a  high  appreciation,  an  ardent  love  for  his 
work ;  such  a  glowing  heart  devotion  as  can  only  spring  from 
the  consideration  that  he  is  the  most  highly  favored,  and  yet 
the  most  solemnly  responsible,  of  all  human  agents:  being  in- 
trusted with  the  dearest  interests  known  in  human  relations — 
the  well  being  of  so  many  in  their  most  plastic  period,  the 
acting  and  re-acting,  for  weal  or  woe,  on  themselves,  on  each 
other,  and  on  society,  through  all  time;  nay,  through  all  eter- 
nity. 

38 


LECTURE   IV. 


39 


Oh!  how  absurd  and  abominable  a  thing  is  a  teacher  who 
looks  no  further  than  his  school-room,  or  the  per  cents  re- 
quired in  his  school  system  for  results,  and  confines  his  efforts 
to  his  daily  success  in  "bringing  up"  the  daily  tasks  ;  in  grind- 
ing his  little  round  of  repressing  disorder,  of  detecting  and 
punishing  the  offenders.  Better  might  the  captain  of  an  ocean 
steamer,  in  time  of  danger,  direct  his  entire  energies  to  the 
detection  of  gambling,  drinking,  and  remissness  of  duty  among 
his  men,  and  leave  the  nob]e  ship  and  the  destiny  of  all  on 
board  to  the  mercy  of  winds,  waves,  and  "  breakers  ahead." 

There  is  a  look-out  for  us,  teachers,  which  none  of  us  suffi- 
ciently consider,  nor  can  fully  appreciate.  But,  so  far  from 
an  adequate  love  of  the  work,  I  think  I  am  safe  in  affirming 
that  there  is  not  one  teacher  in  five,  taking  all  classes  together, 
that  has  not  a  positive  aversion  for  it,  which  many  are  not 
ashamed  even  to  avow. 

See  that  young  man,  compelled  to  earn  his  bread  and 
cigars,  looking  around  to  find  the  easiest  way  of  doing  it.  Too 
lazy  for  muscular  toil,  he  conceives  he  can  have  an  easy  time 
u  keeping  school,"  if  he  can  only  get  a  county  certificate.  So 
he  attends  some  Academy,  or  Union  School,  managed  by  one  of 
the  County  Examiners,  having  learned  that  those  who  patron- 
ize the  Examiners  always  "  get  through"  the  best.  What  love 
of  the  work  incites  him,  or  ever  will  ?  He  abominates  all  work. 

But,  look  again:  another  young  man  having  determined  to 
become  a  lawyer,  and  flattering  himself  that  he  can  make  a 
living  more  easily  by  his  wits  than  by  his  hands,  is  obliged 
from  time  to  time  to  replenish  his  shriveled  purse  by  resorting 
to  teaching.  What  love  of  the  work  has  he? 

I  do  not  intend,  here,  to  imply  any  positive  culpability  in 
using  teaching  to  aid  one's  self  in  preparing  for  another  profes- 
sion. For,  some  of  the  best  teachers  I  have  ever  known,  were 
afterward  among  the  most  useful  and  honored  in  the  pulpit 
and  in  the  forum;  and,  I  believe,  that  nearly  all  the  leading 
men  in  the  country  at  the  present  time  were,  at  some  period 
in  their  lives,  successful  teachers.  Success  in  teaching  gives 
almost  certain  promise  of  success  in  any  other  calling.  Such 
men,  no  doubt,  loved  their  work;  well  enough,  at  least,  to 
excel  in  it. 


-jQ  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

Bui  again  see  that  village  miss,  whose  inordinate  de- 
mands for  "  something  to  wear"  entirely  transcend  the  capa- 
bilities of  her  father's  income.  She  resolves  to  do  something 
for  herself— too  proud  to  go  out  to  work,  and  thinking  it  un- 
necessary for  a  girl  of  her  fine  appearance  to  learn  a  trade,  she 
determines  to  try  for  a  certificate,  but  waits  for  an  Examiner'* 
Institute  as  the  only  practicable  method  of  getting  one.  She 
has  learned  that  the  Examiner  spends  three  or  four  weeks  drill- 
ing his  pupils  on  the  special  set  of  questions  on  which  they  aro 
to  be  examined,  and  she  is  assured  by  circulars  that  u  special 
facilities"  will  be  given  to  the  candidates  who  attend  the 
County  Institute.  What  a  love  for  her  work  this  girl  carries 
to  her  school-room ! 

But,  these  are  extreme  cases,  you  say.  Yes,  extreme  cases 
of  folly  and  wickedness.  But  who  is  responsible  for  the  waste 
of  public  money,  for  the  squandering  of  the  children's  school 
time  and  school  privileges,  for  this  betrayal  of  the  best  inter- 
est of  society?  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say,  here,  that  I  be- 
lieve County  Examiners,  as  a  class,  are  honest  public  servants; 
more  so  than  almost  any  other;  but  "one  sinner"  in  such  a 
position  truly  "destroyeth  much  good." 

We  will  now  turn  to  another  class  of  teachers  found  crowd- 
ing the  profession,  viz. :  teachers  pursuing  the  force  method 
of  school  government.  Is  it  a  supposable  case,  that  surh  a 
teacher  can  have  any  just  appreciation  of  his  work,  of  the 
nature  of  the  material,  or  of  the  measureless,  eternal  interests 
committed  to  his  daily  charge  ?  Is  it  not  very  easy  for  a 
teacher  of  this  class  to  apply  the  epithets  "brat,"  "imp  of 
darkness,"  "numbskull,"  "hard-nut,'5  etc.,  etc.,  while  actinir  MS 
jailer  in  pursuing  what  he  considers  the  legitimate  course  of 
his  business  in  forcing  the  delinquents  to  study,  and  compel- 
ling them  to  bring  up  their  lessons  neglected  for  mischief  or 
lost  by  absence? 

Can  there  be  any  true  love  of  the  work  in  the  heart  of  a 
force-method  teacher?  He  must  be  constituted  of  very  strange 
materials  if  he  can  find  any  thing  lovely  in  the  evil  pac$ioui 
which  he  is  exciting  by  endeavoring  to  repress  them;  in  the 
waywardness  and  meanness,  in  the  obstinacy  and  malice,  which 
lor  the  most  part  are  the  necessary  results  of  his  own  man- 


LECTURE    IV.  41 

agement,  if  not  the  direct  reflection  of  his  own  character  as 
exhibited  to  this  class  of  pupils.  No  wonder  that  so  many 
teachers  slide  into  book  agencies,  insurance  agencies,  saw- 
mills and  groceries.  It's  all  right;  they  can  enjoy  themselves 
much  better  in  any  of  these  occupations  and  make  more 
money  besides. 

But  let  us  turn  from  these  forbidding  scenes,  (I  would  that 
you  could  sav  they  exist  only  in  my  imagination)  and  dis- 
cover, if  possible,  how  the  school-room,  in  some  rare  cases,  is 
a  paradise  watered  by  the  Kiverof  God;  how  the  children 
all  become  as  lovable  as  any  human  beings  can  be;  how  the 
work  of  teaching  is  every  succeeding  day  an  increasing  de- 
light, and  the  true  teacher  a  man  or  woman  who  envies  no 
mortal  his  position,  his  emoluments,  or  his  fame. 

• 
REASONS  FOR  LOVING  THE  WORK. 

1  propose  now  to  show,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  why  we 
teachers  should  love  our  work,  and  I  trust,  these  views  will 
meet  with  a  hearty  approval  from  every  person  present. 

REAFON   I.    THE  VALUE  OF  THE  MATERIAL. 
1.     The  Susceptibility  of  Development. 

Not  many  days  since,  I  saw  an  Irishman  breaking  stone  on 
(he  South  Lebanon  turnpike.  I  hardly  suppose  the  value  of 
the  material  had  much  influence  in  stimulating  his  industry; 
other  considerations  might.  But  come  with  me  down  across 
the  street,  to  Mr.  Swartz's  tombstone  establishment.  We  shall 
find  a  dozen  workmen  sawing,  chiseling,  carving,  or  polishing 
sandstone,  limestone,  granite,  or  marble.  Now,  other  things 
being  equal,  these  laborers  or  artizans  will  be  interested  in  pro- 
portion to  the  value  of  the  blocks  on  which  they  are  engaged. 
fl'h ere  is  one  sculptor  there  more  skillful  than  the  rest,  to 
whom,  I  am  informed,  a  mass  of  Parian  marble  is  intrusted: 
just  that  kind  on  which  Canova  and  Thorwaldsen  achieved 
their  immortality.  What  passer-by  can  fail  to  notice  the  zeal 
of  this  artist  as  he  plies  his  chisel,  and  sympathize  somewhat 
with  his  earnestness,  as  his  design  comes  out  to  view,  more 


42  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

and  more,  day  by  day  ?  Yes,  partake  of  his  anxiety  lest  by 
some  mischance  he  may  not  only  defeat  himself  in  complet- 
ing his  work,  but  ruin  the  costly  block  on  which  his  best 
efforts  have  been  so  long  and  earnestly  bestowed? 

Does  the  idea  of  toil  ever  enter  this  workman's  head  I 
Does  weariness  ever  interfere  with  the  ardor  of  his  applica- 
tion ?  May  be.  But  he  returns  with  increasing  eagerness 
every  day  to  the  fuller  development  of  the  mental  conception 
of  grace,  beauty,  or  sadness,  which  is  being  revealed  from  his 
material  by  the  superior  skill  of  his  plastic  hand.  What  com- 
mon mechanic  would  dare  to  work  on  such  material?  Or,  if 
he  should,  what  owner  would  trust  it  to  his  bungling,  uncertain 
hand? 

If  such  ardor  can  be,  and  often  has  been,  aroused  in  tb<3 
elaborations  of  inanimate  material,  how  much  more  must  the 
true  teacher,  as  the  highest  conceivable  style  of  artist,  glory 
in  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  development  of  that  priceless 
material  which  is  committed  to  his  charge  and  workmanship. 
But,  I  hear  some  of  you  say,  or  think,  almost  aloud:  "I've 
seen  enough  of  this  kind  of  material,  and  have  had  trou- 
ble enough  in  trying  to  make  something  of  it;  but  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  harder  I  work  and  the  more  I  try,  the  worse  the 
children  get,  the  more  unmanageable  and  hateful.  Why,  there 
are  some  boys  I've  been  obliged  to  keep  after  school  almost 
every  night  for  weeks  together  and  punish  frequently  beside; 
and  yet  they  seem  to  get  worse  and  worse,  in  spite  of  every 
thing  I  can  do  for  them.  If  any  body  can  make  anything  de- 
cent, or  tolerable,  out  of  such  material  as  those  boys  are,  they 
can  do  more  than  I  can,  I'm  sure." 

Yes.  my  friend,  you  remind  me  of  that  good  mother  that 
gave  her  little  sick  darling,  Johnny,  three  doses  of  calomel 
during  the  night  and  another  larger  dose  in  the  morning:  then 
sending  for  the  doctor  told  him  when  he  came:  "Doctor,  I'm 
afraid  Johnny  is  going  to  die,  I've  done  everything  I  could  for 
him.  I  have  given  four  doses  of  medicine,  and  ho  has  got 
worse  all  the  time."  Johnny  did  die,  the  victim  of  his  mother's 
overdosing. 

Still  again,  I  ask,  what  of  the  teacher,  and  the  material  in- 
trusted to  his  skill  and  care?  You  will  all  asrree  with  me, 


LECTURE    IV.  43 

when  I  say  that  no  amount  of  Parian  or  Pentelican  marbles 
nor  brilliant  and  costly  metals,  no  rare  and  precious  gems, 
whether  rough  or  wrought,  can  ever  compare  in  value  or  re- 
sponsible results,  with  one  human  soul,  endowed  as  it  is  with 
measureless  capacity  for  intellectual  progress  and  power,  for 
fijood  or  evil.  But  the  development  of  the  intellect;  the  en- 
larging and  intensifying  of  the  capabilities  of  acquisition, 
retention,  utilization  are  but  the  first  and  least  part  of  your 
work,  teacher.  There  is  the  training  of  that  individual  to  a 
true,  noble,  and  persistent  purpose  that  shall  coiitrol  his  fitful, 
impulsive,  wayward,  or  indolent  disposition.  Does  your  very 
being  stagger  and  shrink  back,  in  view  of  such  a  work? 
(Jrant  it.  But  here  is  the  material  susceptible  of  such  results; 
a  soul  to  be  won  or  lost:  not  one,  but  many.  Your  skill  and 
energy,  your  patience  and  fidelity,  may  be  taxed  to  their 
utmost;  and  what  artists  arc  not,  even  on  perishable  material, 
when  struggling  only  for  human  fame? 

2.    Susceptibility  of  Transformation. 

But  you  work  not  for  such  an  end.  On  your  material 
your  labor  is  for  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  material,  not  for  your 
own  aggrandizement  or  reputation.  Shall  that  pupil,  under 
your  influence,  learn  to  love  work,  instead  of  play;  under 
your  inspiration,  learn  to  study,  because  he  loves  to  study^ 
not  because  he  is  compelled  to  do  so  ?  If  even  so  much 
is  attained,  he  begins  life  a  worker  rather  than  an  idler, 
a  producer  rather  than  a  consumer,  he  leaves  you  advanc- 
ing on  an  upward  rather  than  a  downward  plane,  and  the 
difference  is,  in  the  one  case,  industry,  energj7,  enterprise, 
thrift,  success;  in  the  other,  labor  is  a  burden,  energy  and 
enterprise,  are  all  given  to  sensual  indulgence,  and  life  is  a 
failure,  death  is  a  relief,  and  what  after  death?  Such  are  the 
results,  teacher,  of  your  labor  on  the  material  on  which 
you  work.  But,  here,  I  want  you  to  notice  the  increasing  in- 
terest and  ardor  which  day  by  day  must  characterize  the  woik 
of  the  true  teacher,  as  he  sees  these  elements  developed, 
cheerful  industry,  the  love  and  power  of  investigation,  ener 
getic  effort  in  the  preparation  of  his  class  exercises,  glowing 


44  8CIICOL    MANAGEMENT. 

enterprise  awakened  by  his  increasing  success  over  him- 
self  and  his  difficulties  Why,  that  boy  is  a  new  creature. 
He  is  born  again.  His  school  duties,  before  forced  through 
on  the  rote  system,  a  drag  and  a  bore,  are  now  his  absorb- 
ing delight,  and  his  increasing  enthusiasm  evinces  a  new 
nature  and  reveals  to  himself  a  new  existence.  But  will  not 
these  same  forces  evoked  by  your  skillful  management  go  with 
him  out  of  the  school-room  into  his  life-work  ?  I  tell  you, 
teacher,  such  energies,  thus  aroused,  are  worth  more  to  that 
pupil  than  all  the  knowledge,  or  all  the  culture,  that  school, 
seminary,  or  college  ever  conferred  or  can  confer,  without 
them. 

But  does  then  any  teacher,  under  such  responsibilities,  and 
with  the  possibility  of  such  results,  yet  say  that  he  has  no  ijr 
terest  in  teaching,  and  he  merely  teaches  because  he  has  to 
do  something;  and  then  is  ready  to  apologize,  at  any  time,  for 
his  being  a  teacher,  saying  that  he  is  only  teaching  to  help 
himself  to  some  better  business  ? 

Why,  the  miserable  creature!  what  sort  of  material  is  he 
made  of?  He  ought  to  ask  the  children's  pardon  for  what 
injury  he  has  done  them,  and  never  disgrace  a  school-room 
again.  A  blackleg  apologizing  to  his  comrades  for  his  being 
seen  in  so  low  a  place  as  a  prayer-meeting  would  present 
something  like  a  parallel  to  his  case. 

3.    Power  of  Affection. 

Again,  in  this  material  on  which  we  work,  teachers,  there 
are  higher  and  purer  powers  and  susceptibilities  than  any  yet 
mentioned,  among  which  is  that  of  personal  affection,  and  no 
master  workman  will  overlook  or  fail  to  bring  into  requisition 
this  power  as  an  element  in  securing  his  highest  success. 

There  is  no  man,  woman,  or  child  so  bad,  so  perverse,  so 
blinded,  so  hardened  but  that  he  can  be  reached,  provided  the 
proper  and  adequate  means  be  used;  and  we  ought  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly slow  in  giving  over  any  particular  case  as  beyond 
onr  power;  feeling  that  in  excluding  any  one  from  the  pale  oi 
hope  and  kindly  influence,  we  virtually  confess  our  own  inca- 
pacity ;  while  it  is  surely  possible  that  some  other  teacher  might 


LECTURE    IV.  > 

bring  around  that  boy  or  that  girl  such  influences  ns  would] 
convert  him  or  her  from  a  willingness  to  be  considered  the- 
worst  scholar  in  school,  to  a  determination  to  become  thebestv 
Such  radical  changes  in  the  character  of  pupils  have  blessed1 
and  encouraged  many  a  faithful  teacher,  and  are  among  the 
richest  rewards  that  lie  ever  experiences  for  his  many  anx- 
ious days  and  sleepless  nights. 

The  power  of  affection,  then,  dwells  in  every  heart,  and  the 
desire  for  consideration  and  esteem.  Every  pupil  will  love  or 
hato  you,  and  wnen  your  name  is  spoken,  he  will  be  inclined 
to  take  sides  for  or  against  you,  to  maintain  your  cause  against 
whatever  opposition,  or  to  join  with  those  who  censure  and 
revile  you.  That  teacher  who  is  sustained  by  all  his  pupils  is- 
safe,  in  any  community,  in  whatever  measures  he  may  adopt. 
The  best  method  I  have  ever  discovered  to  win  a  bad  boy  is  to 
find  as  much  as  possible  in  him  to  commend,  and  as  little  as 
possible  to  censure.  Thus,  as  I  take  his  part  against  accusers, 
possibly  against  himself  as  an  accuser,  he  begins  to  feel,  that 
he  has  found  a  friend  in  his  teacher;  and  it  can  not  be  long; 
before  his  heart  will  respond,  ;  nd  his  external  bearing  toward 
me  will  undergo  an  entire  charge.  Now,  in  winning  such 
cases,  the  "hard  cr.ses"  of  nil  fciirer  teachers  and  of  ihe  dis- 
trict, there  must  be  a  keen  and  pure  delight.  Here,  then,  in 
this  power  and  susceptibility  of  affection  dwelling  in  every 
bosom,  the  true  teacher  finds  an  element  in  his  material  which 
makes  him  love  his  work  and  glory  in  it. 

4.    Power  of  Appeal. 

Again,  there  is  the  power  of  appeal  possessed  by  every 
child;  appeal  from  your  decisions  or  actions,  whether  legisla- 
tive, judicial,  or  executive,  for  in  all  these  capacities  you  are 
compelled  to  act  at  almost  any  moment. 

That  child  can  and  will  appeal  to  his  schoolmates,  in  case 
lie  feels  himself  wronged,  and  to  his  parents;  or  that  young 
man  will  appeal  to  his  associates  in  or  out  of  school,  possibly 
in  the  doggeries  or  on  the  street  corners. 

It  is  folly  to  ignore  this  power  of  appeal,  teacher.  It  has 
its  existence  and  influence,  and,  possibly,  you  lay  yourself 
open  so  frequently  to  its  effects  that  all  your  efforts  for  the 


4C  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

good  of  your  school  are  neutralized,  and  sooner  or  later  you 
will  be  compelled  to  abandon  your  position.  But  beyond 
these  courts  of  appeal  already  mentioned  there  is  a  higher 
tribunal  to  which  you  are  brought  by  every  pupil,  however 
vicious  or  reckless.  It  is  the  court  of  conscience  in  which 
he  will  rightfully  hold  you  amenable,  though  placing  himself 
beyond  its  jurisdiction.  He  can  pronounce  judgment,  in  your 
case,  with  wonderful  discrimination,  under  the  eternal  law  of 
right.  Such  a  decision,  coming  as  it  does  from  this  self-con 
stituted  judge,  you  can  not  afford  to  disregard  or  defy.  You 
will  do  it  at  your  peril. 

Let  us,  then,  love  our  work,  teachers,  because  our  pupils 
have  consciences,  a  consciousness  of  right,  ever  active  in  our 
behalf,  if  not  in  their  own.  For  who  is  not  thankful  for  any 
incentives  to  right  and  restraints  from  wrong,  coming  from 
whatever  source  ? 

5.     Power  of   Combination. 

Ths  next  element  in  our  material,  fellow  workman,  and  the 
last  I  shall  notice,  is  the  the  power  of  combination.  I  have 
hitherto  considered  the  character  of  pupils  chiefly  as  individ- 
uals related  to  their  teacher  and  friends  beyond  the  school- 
room. But,  bear  in  mind,  it  is  not  one  individual,  nor  lii'ty 
individuals,  that  you  are  called  on  to  raise  up  and  develop  like 
so  many  apple-trees  in  an  orchard,  each  improving  or  deteri- 
orating.as  well  or  ill  cultivated;  but,  altogether,  they  are  so 
many  currents  in  the  gulf,  flowing,  interflowing,  counterflow. 
ing;  and  what  shall  be  the  resultant  current,  a  gulf  stream  to 
dispense  warmth,  life,  and  verdure  on  remote  and  otherwise 
icy  and  desolate  shores;  or  a  vortex  carrying  itself  and  all  that 
shall  be  drawn  within  its  reach  to  one  common  abyss  of  de- 
struction? 

Ladies,  suppose  as  any  one  of  you  walks  down  the  street 
to  the  post-office,  alow  fellow  of  the  baser  sort  is  standing  in  a 
saloon  door;  he  will  scan  your  countenance,  person,  and 
gait,  but  with  caution,  perhaps  seeming  respect.  But  if,  on 
your  return,  he  shall  have  been  joined  by  a  comrade,  you 
will  probably  overhear  a  titter,  or  a  low  whistle,  at  your  ex- 


LECTURE    IV.  47 

pense.  But  suppose  to  these  there  have  been  added  three  or 
four  men,  the  next  time  you  pass  that  way;  you  will  very 
probably  be  openly  insulted.  It  takes  the  combination  of  a 
half  a  dozen  blackguards  to  insult  one  inoffensive,  helpless 
girl ;  a  dozen  armed  ruffians  to  attack  one  unarmed  man;  and 
then  they  are  tremendously  bold,  brave,  defiant.  Such  is  the 
power  of  combination;  it  converts  cowards  into  bullies. 

Again,  notice  that  group  of  boys  sitting  on  yonder  goods 
box,  beyond  the  ears  and  eyes  of  their  parents,  as  they  sup- 
pose. In  their  chaffing,  jesting,  and  ribaldry,  which  one  dares 
intimate  any  dissent  from  the  strain  of  impurity  or  profanity 
of  the  company?  knowing  well  that  he  would  be  greeted,  in 
such  a  case,  by  the  leader  of  the  "crowd"  with — "You  are 
getting  mighty  pious,  arn't  you?  You'd  better  go  home  and 
say  your  prayers."  How  many  boys  in  the  thousands  of  such 
companies  found  everywhere,  in  city  and  country,  dare  attempt 
to  resist  the  combined  current  of  their  respective  "  crowds  ?" 
How  many  are  there,  in  any  dozen,  that  will  not  the  rather 
increase  the  general  force  in  this  vortex  of  folly  and  wicked- 
ness? Perhaps  some  boy  who  loves  his  mother  has  con- 
cluded, "it  don't  pay"  to  make  his  mother  so  sad  and  tearful  ? 
and  he  resolves  to  have  better  company,  or  none  at  all,  and 
he  tells  his  mother  so.  He  probably  finds  none  at  all,  save 
his  sisters,  his  music,  and  his  books. 

Many  a  mother  understands  too  well  what  I  mean  by  the 
power  of  combination.  It  is  ruining  her  noble  boy,  and  blast- 
ing her  dearest  hopes,  in  spite  of  all  her  sighs  and  tears. 

How  can  she  break  its  spell  ? 

Teacher,  can  you  help  her?     Let  us  resolve  to  try. 

I  have  cited  some  instances  out  of  the  school-room,  in 
which  this  element  is  productive  of  eviJ.  Let  us  notice  one 
or  two  in  which  it  has  been  equally  efficient  for  good.  The 
Washingtonian  temperance  movement,  in  its  inception  and 
wide  extended  progress,  is  one  good  example.  The  progress 
of  Christianity  and  civilization,  through  the  influence  of  re- 
vivals of  religion,  is  another.  And  it  seems  to  me  that  with- 
out these  two  applications  of  this  principle  we  should  only 
witness,  in  the  world's  history,  progress  in  superstition,  bigotry, 
and  tyranny  on  the  one  side,  sensuality,  infidelity,  and  anar- 


48  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

chy  on  the  other;  all  conspiring  to  banish  virtue,  piety,  and 
liberty  from  the  earth. 

But  in  no  place  is  the  power  of  combination  more  active 
than  in  the  school-room,  more  to  be  dreaded,  more  to  be 
prized.  It  remains  for  you,  teacher,  to  convert  this  recip- 
rocal influence,  this  power  of  combination  from  an  agency 
of  evil  into  an  energy  for  good;  and  you  can  do  it.  Then 
you  will  find  there  is  no  element  in  your  school-room  so 
effective  in  working  out  splendid  results  as  this.  The  popu- 
Jar  feeling  of  a  school,  the  esprit  de  corps  of  a  class  may  be 
all  wrong,  or  they  may  be  all  right.  They  may  be  all  for  the 
teacher  or  all  against  him  and  his  measures.  He  can  never 
justly  claim  any  true  success,  till  he  has  secured  the  control 
and  co-operation  of  this  all-potent  spirit  and  power  of  com- 
bination. 

The  question  then  comes  up  to  every  one  of  us,  how  can 
I  so  gain  the  mastery  over  this  element  that  it  shall  bring 
me,  in  my  school  management  and  in  my  class  exercises,  a 
beautiful  and  glorious  success,  rather  than  a  disastrous  and 
lamentable  defeat? 

Forewarned,  forearmed:  all  I  proposed  to  show  in  this 
lecture  was  some  of  those  elements  in  the  material  on  which 
which  we  work  that  should  incite  love  for  our  work.  Some 
of  you  may  say,  "  I  see  more  reason  why  I  should  fear,  dread 
the  work  of  teaching  from  the  exposition  which  you  have 
given."  Well,  my  reply  is,  "You  may  lack  one  important 
qualification  of  the  teacher,  or  you  may  deny  the  truth  of  my 
statements."  But  I  shall  endeavor  to  show,  in  a  future  lec- 
ture, how  these  elements  in  human  nature,  so  active  in  the 
school-room,  so  fearful  in  their  results  when  ill-directed,  may 
become,  by  the  management  of  the  true  teacher,  his  surest 
means  of  success,  and,  of  course,  the  strongest  reasons  why 
he  should  love  his  work  and  glory  in  it  Napoleon  never 
underrated  the  forces  of  his  antagonist,  either  before  or  after 
victory;  well  knowing  that  the  more  powerful  the  army  de- 
feated, and  the  empire  subjugated  to  his  sway,  the  more  glo- 
rious was  the  victory  obtained,  and  the  more  were  his  prestige 
and  resources  augmented  for  the  achievement  of  further  con- 
quests. 


LECTURE  ON   SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT, 


LECTURE    V. 
FIFTH  QUALIFICATION.    LOVE  OF  THE  WORK 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

In  my  last  lecture,  I  tried  to  develop  one  reason  why  we 
should  love  our  work.  It  was  in  the  powers  and  suscepti- 
bilities of  the  human  soul,  as  we  find  it  in  the  school-room; 
also  in  its  outlook  for  time  and  eternity. 

In  this  lecture  I  propose  to  consider  some  other  reasons 
why  the  teacher,  more  than  any  other  man,  should  take  sat- 
isfaction and  pride  in  his  daily  labors,  and  why  he  should 
aspire  to  excellence  and  eminence  in  his  vocation. 

REASON  II.    VARIETY  AND  NOVELTY. 
Conversation  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W. 

While  enjoying  the  genial  hospitality  of  Dr.  W.,  then  re- 
siding in  an  Ohio  county  town,  I  was  addressed  at  the  break- 
fast table  by  the  Doctor,  thus:  "How  is  it,  Mr.  Hoi  brook, 
that  a  man  of  your  energy  and  enterprise  can  content  him- 
self with  going  over  the  same  round  of  the  school-room,  day 
after  day?  I  should  think  it  would  be  very  monotonous.  I 
do-n't  see  how  you  endure  it." 

Said  I,  "  Doctor,  I  heard  you  leave  your  house  at  5  o'clock, 
(his  morning ;  will  you  permit  me  to  inquire  where  you  went  ?" 

"  Certainly,  I  went  to  see  a  patient  that  I  left  last  evening 
lying  very  low  with  typhoid  fever." 

4  49 


50  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

"How  did  you  find  ner,  Doctor?" 

"Her  symptoms  were  slightly  better." 

"1  suppose  you  examined  her  pulse  attentively,  noticed 
her  tongue,  prescribed  according  to  your  judgment  of  the 
case,  and  left." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

•4If  you  please,  Doctor,  where  are  you  going  after  break- 
fast?" 

"To  dress  the  broken  leg  of  a  patient,  about  two  miles  in 
the  country/' 

"And  what  after  that?" 

"  Why,  I  have  several  patients  in  town." 

"And  you  will  call  on  each  of  them,  feel  the  pulse,  exam 
ine  the  tongue,  smell  the  feverish  offensive  breath,  prescribe 
pills  or  powders,  and  leave  for  the  next  one,  to  go  through 
the  same  order  of  operations." 

Said  Mrs.  W.,  "  I  think  he  rather  has  you,  Doctor." 

"Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "I  see  there  are  different  ways  of 
looking  at  things." 

"But,  I  don't  see,"  said  I,  "how  a  gentleman  of  your  refine- 
ment and  taste,  Doctor,  can  endure  such  a  monotonous  round 
of  repulsive  duties,  day  after  day,  for  so  many  years."  "But," 
said  I,  addressing  the  lady,  "Mrs.  W.,  I  was  out  in  your  garden 
before  breakfast.  You  have  a  beautiful  bed  of  flowers  there ; 
they  must  have  cost  you  a  large  amount  of  time  and  labor." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  attend  it  entirely  myself." 

"The  flowers  speak  well  for  your  industry  and  skill  in 
floriculture.  But,  did  you  not  cultivate  the  same  kinds  of 
flowers  and  plants  last  spring  ?" 

"O,  yes,  and  I  expect  to  do  it  next  spring;  in  fact,  hus- 
band says,  he  expects  I'll  soon  turn  into  a  plant,  plantain,  or 
something  else  more  useful  than  beautiful,  in  the  garden  my- 
self, I  am  so  much  engaged  there,  and  sometimes  to  his 
inconvenience,  1  suppose." 

"But,  I  don't  see  why  you  don't  get  tired  of  cultivating, 
over  and  over,  the  same  flowers  every  season.  I  should  think 
it  would  be  very  monotonous" 

"Why,  I  never  think  of  it  as  tiresome  or  monotonous;  1 


LECTURE     V.  51 

find  something  new  every  day,  almost  every  hour  for  that 
matter,  to  excite  my  interest,  and  keep  me  in  the  garden.    L 
suppose  I  am  something  of  an  enthusiast.     Husband  thinks 
I  am  about  half  crazy  sometimes." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  u  every  woman  will  have  her  pet  or  her 
crotchet.  I  suppose  wife's  is  as  harmless  as  any  other." 

"But  you  like  the  flowers  as  well  as  I  do,  Doctor,  or  1 
wouldn't  spend  so  much  time  with  them.  Don't  you  like  the 
ilowers,  Mr.  Holbrook  ?" 

uOh  yes,  indeed  I  do,  and  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  enjoyed 
their  fragrance  and  beauty  more  than  this  morning.  But  I 
think  I  find  as  great  variety  in  the  labors  of  my  school- room, 
and  find  myself  as  much  interested  and  excited  in  the  devel- 
opment of  those  human  plants,  buds,  flowers,  that,  I  find  there, 
as  I  can  suppose  it  possible  for  you  to  be,  on  your  pet  work ; 
and  I  think  much  more  so,  inasmuch  as  it  never  escapes  me, 
that  I  work  not  for  the  day,  or  the  week,  but  for  all  time,  and 
expect  to  see  fruits,  in  the  future  lives  of  my  pupils,  answer 
able  to  the  efforts  and  skill  I  put  forth  in  their  behalf." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Doctor.  u  you  have  your  own  views  of 
things,  I  see;  quite  philosophical  I  admit.  It  is  a  very  pleas- 
ant feature  in  human  economy,  that  there  is  a  place  for  every 
man,  and  a  man  for  every  place.  But  it  is  a  pity  that  so  few, 
comparatively,  find  their  place,  or  are  satisfied  with  it  when 
they  do  find  it." 

Thus,  Teachers,  I  claim  that  our  business  is  an  ever 
changing  scene,  of  variety  and  novelty  every  .new  phase 
presenting  some  new  call  for  effort,  and  exciting  a  new  inter- 
est. Every  pupil  in  the  eye  of  a  true  teacher  is  a  bud  of 
promise,  or  a  flower  of  hope  and  joy,  responsive  directly  and 
immediately  to  his  endeavors  for  higher  improvement,  and 
further  development.  But  if  there  is  an  exception,  in  some 
rough  boy,  or  pert  girl,  it's  only  an  instance  of  novelty  call- 
ing for  new  and  varied  expedients,  for  his  or  her  redemption. 
Then,  what  satisfaction  when  the  wished  for  results  of  our 
labor,  patience  and  skill  begin  to  appear.  What  vocation 
thus  will  compare  with  ours  for  novelty  and  variety,  con- 


52  SCHOOL,   MANAGEMENT. 

stantly  improving,  ever  yielding   more  present   satisfaction, 
and  brighter  promises  of  future  reward? 

If  any  teacher  complains  of  monotony,  and  wearies  in  his 
daily  round,  each  day  more  tedious  than  the  preceding;  the 
difficulty  is  in  himself,  not  in  his  business.  He  or  she  is  a 
lazy  teacher,  without  energy  enough  to  be  interesting  or 
interested  in  any  business  whatever,  whose  school  is  a  chaos 
or  a  pandemonium;  who  watches  the  clock  with  more  solic- 
itude than  the  scholars,  thinking  the  hands  never  will  £et 
around;  and  the  term  never  will  come  to  an  end;  or  he  or 
she  is  a  force  teacher,  a  rote  teacher,  attempting  the  impossi- 
bility of  holding  the  restless  spirits  of  children  and  youth 
down  in  the  miserable  grooves  of  his  machine  shop.  Sooner 
let  him  attempt  to  bind  the  winds  with  a  bed  cord,  and  drive 
away  the  clouds  with  his  scowling  brow,  or  threatening  lists. 
Immortal,  responsible  spirits  forced  by  human  power  into 
anything  truly  noble  or  hopeful!  What  greater  absurdity 
conceivable  ? 


REASON  III.    A  FIELD  FOR  INGENUITY  AND  ENTERPRISE. 

You  have  all  read  of  James  Watt,  the  more  than  inventor 
of  the  steam-engine.  When  a  boy,  he  was  employed  to  open 
and  shut  the  four  valves  of  an  immense  cylinder,  by  working 
two  rods,  each  attached  to  two  valves.  Now,  you  see  the  boy 
pulling  with  one  hand,  pushing  with  the  other.  You  see  thai 
mighty  piston  ascend  and  descend,  and  obedient  to  those  little 
hands  and  arms,  throwing  at  each  stroke  a  hundred  barrels 
of  water  from  the  coal  mine  beneath.  But  dorfi  his  arms 
grow  tired! 

Now,  thinks  that  weary  boy,  "Can't  I  connect  the  end  of 
one  rod  somehow  with  one  end  of  that  great  beam,  and  the 
other  rod  to  the  other  end  ?  They  would  never  know  the  differ- 
ence, and  my  tired  arms  would."  So  the  boy,  in  his  resting 
hours,  planned,  and  arranged  connecting  rods,  cords  and  pul- 
leys, himself  the  meanwhile  the  tutt  of  jest  and  ridicule,  from 
all  the  other  boys  and  workmen.  At  last  he  succeeded,  and 
as  he  sat  on  a  box  and  watched  the  successful  working  of  his 


LECTURE    V.  53 

plans,  the  results  of  his  ingenuity,  wasn't  he  rich  ?  Where 
were  the  jesters  now  ?  They  had  become  warm  admirers  or_ 
silent  foes.  But  what  does  he  care?  His  plans  worked.  He 
had  won  success,  and  more  renown  than  he  knew  of  at  that 
time.  He  soon  succeeded  in  making  one  rod  do  the  work,  by 
passing  one  end  around  an  eccentric  on  the  main  shaft ;  this 
arrangement  virtually  continues  to  the  present  time,  though 
another  nameless  Watt  has  made  one  valve  serve  the  purpose 
of  four  in  giving  ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  both  ends  of 
a  steam  cylinder. 

When  Charles  Goodyear,  by  the  ready  use  of  an  accident 
that  nobody  else  would  have  noticed,  succeeded  in  harden- 
ing or  vulcanizing  Indian  rubber,  and  soon  applied  it  to  ten 
thousand  purposes,  from  hair  pins  and  combs  to  the  construc- 
tion of  life  boats,  and  pleasure  carriages,  was  he  not  well 
repaid  for  his  personal  hardships,  for  the  destitution  of  his 
family,  for  the  jibes  and  jeers  of  his  own  and  his  wife's  rela- 
tions that  he  had  endured  for  twenty  years,  in  working  to 
attain  this  very  result? 

I  formerly  knew  a  master  mechanic,  Thomas  Keyes,  who 
when  a  boy  was  employed  in  a  cotton  factory,  attending  a 
power  loom.  As  often  as  a  thread  broke,  he  had  to  stop  the 
loom,  tie  the  broken  thread,  and  again  start  the  loom.  If  the 
loom  was  riot  stopped  at  the  instant  the  thread  broke,  the 
loss  from  the  resulting  defect  in  the  cloth  came  out  of  the 
boy's  wages.  The  closest  application  was,  therefore,  neces- 
sarily given  by  all  the  boys  and  girls  in  charge  of  the  looms, 
and  it  was  a  most  exhausting  kind  of  labor.  Thomas,  after 
working  thus,  for  some  months,  and  with  little  profit,  at 
length  conceived  the  idea  of  hanging  a  looped  wire  on  each 
thread  of  the  warp,  over  a  grooved  cylinder  revolving  slowly 
beneath.  These  wires  were  so  arranged  in  a  frame  between 
the  threads  and  the  cylinder,  that  if  a  thread  broke,  the  wire 
which  it  had  sustained  would  fall,  and  lodge  its  lower  end  in 
a  groove  of  the  cylinder.  This  would  check  the  revolution 
of  the  cylinder,  and  throwing  the  belt  off  the  driving  pulley 
upon  the  loose  pulley,  would  stop  the  loom,  at  the  instant 
any  thread  broke.  By  this  contrivance,  Thomas  was  enabled 


54  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

to  attend  three  looms  instead  of  one,  saving  himself  the  lose 
of  wages  from  the  defects  of  the  cloth  arising  from  missing 
threads. 

Do  you  see  our  friend  Tom  seated  on  a  stool,  compara- 
tively at  ease,  waiting  for  one  of  the  three  looms  to  stop, 
instead  of  watching  most  intently  and  incessantly  every  in- 
dividual thread  on  a  single  loom.  Tom  is  very  much  elated 
with  the  success  of  his  contrivance,  and  the  result  of  his  in- 
genuity. And  well  he  may  be,  for  his  invention  is  speedily 
adopted  in  all  cotton  factories  everywhere.  Why  he  never 
obtained  a  patent  is  a  mystery;  far  less  valuable  inventions 
and  improvements  have  given  many  a  one  an  independent 
fortune. 

But  the  fortune  is  the  least  of  my  consideration,  here.  It 
is  the  delight  he  must  have  experienced  in  seeing  his  plan 
work,  and  in  the  consciousness  that  it  was  saving  thousands 
of  industrious  worthy  girls  from  exhausting  fatigue,  and  in- 
creasing their  wages  as  well  as  the  profits  of  their  employers. 

So  far  as  this  narrative  of  facts  is  applicable,  you  can 
apply  it  to  your  own  case,  teachers,  in  managing  your  schools. 
You  can  make  the  labor  of  school  government  as  exhausting 
as  the  watching  of  a  thousand  threads  in  the  warp  of  a  piece 
of  cloth;  or,  by  the  exercise  of  your  ingenuity,  good  sense, 
and  good  feeling,  in  planning  judicious  arrangements,  in- 
venting happy  expedients  rather  to  forestall  than  to  suppress 
evils,  you  can  make  your  school  government  a  matter  of 
positive  satisfaction  and  increasing  pleasure,  day  by  day ;  so 
much  the  more  so,  as  your  plans  will  ever  be  improving,  and 
working  more  successfully.  They  will  thus  produce  self- 
propelling  and  self-controlling  industry,  happy  hearts  and 
joyout>  countenances;  where  before  there  was  repugnance 
for  all  your  watchful  anxiety,  resistance  to  your  most  earnest 
efforts,  continual  conflict  with  your  well-meant  and  energetic 
measures  to  maintain  good  order,  and  secure  diligence  in 
study. 

In  the  times  of  '76  it  was  thought  necessary  by  the 
British  Parliament  to  hold  secret  sessions,  to  meet  the  emer- 
gences for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  in  the  American 


LECTURE   V.  55 

colonies,  and  it  often  required  a  heavy  constabulary  force  to 
clear  the  galleries,  from  the  fact  that  every  person,  on  going^ 
out,  stationed  himself  as  near  as  possible  to  the  door  outside 
that  he  might  be  among  those  who  would  be  able  to  crowd 
in  after  the  secret  session  was  concluded.  But  some  M.  P., 
the  only  man  among  them,  perhaps,  with  wit  and  ingenuity 
enough  to  be  a  good  teacher,  suggested  the  plan  of  announc- 
ing to  the  people  in  the  galleries,  that  they  would  be  admit- 
ted by  the  doors  at  the  other  end  of  the  galleries  from  those 
by  which  they  went  out.  No  sooner  said  than  done,  and  the 
very  cause  which  before  had  retarded,  now  accomplished  the 
clearing  of  the  galleries,  with  a  rush,  viz,:  the  desire  to  be 
among  those  who  should  first  enter  the  galleries  the  moment 
the  door  of  ingress  was  thrown  open. 

I  have  adduced  these  two  or  three  examples,  for  the 
purpose  of  exhibiting  the  infinitely  greater  satisfaction  we 
experience  in  removing  difficulties  by  foresight,  in  flanking 
them  by  strategy,  in  turning  the  worst  of  them  to  our  highest 
advantage,  greater,  I  say,  than  we  ever  can  by  maintaining 
perpetual  war  to  crush  or  restrain  difficulties,  which  are  only 
aggravated  by  our  vain  endeavors. 

Teachers,  there  is  no  situation  in  life  where  ingenuity  is 
so  frequently  called  for,  or  can  be  so  happily  applied,  as  in 
the  charge  of  a  large  school.  In  my  last  lecture,  I  tried  to 
show  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  forces  that  must 
either  harmonize  or  conflict  with  the  teacher's  purposes  and 
plans,  just  as  he  has  skill  and  ingenuity  to  manage  them. 
He  may  expend  all  his  time,  energy  and  health  in  repressing 
and  crushing  those  very  activities  which,  with  proper  man- 
agement, would  become  the  sources  of  his  highest  satisfac- 
tion and  success. 

N  ow,  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the  chief  satis- 
faction in  prosecuting  any  successful  business  is  that  which 
the  business  man  feels  in  the  working  out  of  his  plans,  in 
reaching  his  ends  by  his  own  skill  in  contrivance,  in  scheming. 
Read  the  life  of  Samuel  Budgett,  the  model  merchant,  for  an 
example.  Should  the  biography  of  A.  T.  Stewart  ever  be  cor 


56  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

rectly  written,  I  have  no  doubt  we  would  find  the  same  fact 
splendidly  set  forth. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  methods  by  which  some  of  tiie 
common  and  the  uncommon  difficulties  of  the  school-room 
may  be  forestalled,  and  either  prevented,  or  converted  into 
advantages,  I  shall  devote  one  lecture  in  this  course  to  School 
Strategy,  in  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  how  much  better 
contrivance  is  than  force,  contrivance  to  infuse  better  feelings 
and  purposes  into  the  active  vicious  spirits  of  a  school,  than 
force  to  crush  them  into  obedience,  and  thus  really  intensify 
their  energy  for  evil,  or  drive  them  from  school,  and,  perhaps, 
beyond  the  last  influence  for  good. 

REASON  IV.    LOVE  OF  FAMILY. 

Again,  teachers  have  the  same  inducements  to  love  then- 
work  that  other  men  have.  I  suppose  that  Irish  stone- 
breaker  found  not  very  much  in  his  work  to  attract  him, 
either  because  of  the  value  of  the  material,  or  because  there 
was  exercise  of  skill  in  breaking  it;  but  he  labored  diligent^, 
because  he  loved  his  wife  and  children,  and  took  satisfaction 
in  making  them  comfortable.  And  you,  teacher,  can  have 
the  same  relations  and  affections  as  other  men  and  women, 
and  you  ought  to  be  able  to  draw  vastly  more  satisfaction 
from  these  than  the  majority  of  other  men  do.  Why  ?  Be- 
cause you  know  how,  or  ought  to  know  how,  to  give  more 
satisfaction  to  your  wife  or  your  husband ;  and  to  train  your 
children  on  the  same  principles  that  you  find  so  effective  in 
training  other  people's  children. 

REASON  V.     LOVE  OF  MONEY. 

If  the  love  of  money  is  the  chief  and  all-absorbing  motive 
of  sordid  men,  it  is  none  the  less  a  good  and  forceful  mo  live 
for  noble  men.  It  is  true  you  may  never  become  a  million 
aire,  teacher,  but  by  honest  industry  and  skillful  invesUm-ni, 
multitudes  of  teachers  have  attained  to  competence,  and  nut 
a  few,  to  wealth.  The  ability  to  obtain  a  good  salary,  and  to 
make  money  reputably,  enhances  your  influence  for  good  in 


LECTURE   V.  57 

school  and  out;  and  the  business  capacity  to  make  good  in- 
vestments of  your  earnings,  and  to  accumulate  property,  will 
enable  the  teacher  to  secure  the  confidence  of  business  men, 
as  a  capable  trainer  of  their  children  to  habits  of  industry, 
economy,  and  thrift. 

So,  I  say,  the  love  of  money  is  a  worthy  motive,  and  the 
possession  of  real  estate,  bank  stocks,  government  securities, 
or  mortgage  notes,  is  no  detriment,  in  any  sense,  and  affords 
to  some,  in  our  profession  at  least,  a  powerful  stimulus  for 
higher  endeavor  in  their  legitimate  work. 

REASON  VI.     SOCIAL  STANDING. 

But  some  teachers  complain,  "We  are  not  very  much 
thought  of."  This  is  a  mistake.  The  teacher  will  receive 
consideration  and  enjoy  a  social  standing  according  to  his 
merits,  though  his  being  a  teacher  will  not  compensate  for 
every  deficiency  in  his  social  or  business  character. 

The  lawyer,  who  is  but  a  low  driveling  pettifogger,  is 
none  the  more  respected  because  he  is  a  lawyer.  But  of  all 
the  professions,  I  really  believe  there  is  less  demanded  (per- 
haps I  ought  to  say  expected),  of  teachers  to  insure  admission 
to  the  best  circles  in  which  they  may  desire  to  move  than  of 
any  other.  In  other  words,  the  teacher  with  a  given  amount 
of  intelligence,  social  power,  and  cultivation,  stands  higher 
among  the  families  for  whom  he  labors  than  any  other  man, 
the  minister  not  excepted;  and,  teachers,  if  you  are  not  wel- 
come to  all  family  circles  and  social  gatherings,  it  is  your  own 
fault;  it  is  either  from  lack  of  social  culture  and  moral  stam- 
ina, or  from  excess  of  pedantry  and  egotism. 

If  there  is  any  bore  more  cordially  dreaded  and  more  gen- 
erally pronounced  insufferable  than  any  other,  and  the'  more 
BO,  perhaps,  because  he  can  not  be  snubbed,  it  is  his  little 
ul mightiness,  the  schoolmaster;  not  because  he  is  a  school- 
master, but  because  he  carries  the  stiff,  didactic,  dictatorial 
bearing  of  the  school-room  into  his  conversational  inter- 
course; absurd  enough  in  the  school-room,  but  perfectly  in- 
tolerable anvwhere  else. 


nwrtrtn 


58  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


EEASON  VII.     A  FIELD  FOR  ENTERPRISE. 

It  is  aften  remarked  of  us,  teachers,  that  as  a  class,  we  are 
men  of  small  calibre,  of  no  particular  force,  and  that  few  of 
us  ever  amount  to  much;  while,  if  any  of  our  profession  do 
arrive  at  distinction,  it  is  assumed  that  they  are  not  teachers, 
but  philosophers,  presidents,  doctors,  or  professors.  For  my 
part,  i  would  rather  be  known  as  a  kt  live  teacher/'  than  be 
dubbed  with  any  or  all  those  sonorous  titles,  so  often  the 
only  reputable  endowment  of  their  possessors. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  too  much  ground  for  this  slight 
opinion  so  generally  entertained  of  the  character  and  enter- 
prise of  teachers.  While  the  ten-thousands  know  little  of 
their  business  and  care  less  for  any  real  success  in  it,  the 
tens,  possibly  the  hundreds,  just  at  this  time,  find  here  a 
splendid  field  of  enterprise,  not  exactly  in  the  sense  that 
\7underbilt  or  Fisk,  A.  T.  Stewart  or  Solon  Palmer,  would 
count  enterprise,  but  surely  in  a  higher  and  a  nobler.  A 
determination  for  excellence  in  any  reputable  calling  is 
surely  praiseworthy;  and  none  the  less  so,  is  a  desire  for  emi- 
nence in  a  calling  which,  before  all  others,  has  blessed  man- 
kind, and  will  ever  continue  to  do  so.  The  world's  roll  of 
honor  for  teachers  presents  as  many  notable  names,  unstained 
with  blood,  as  any  other.  Shall  I  mention  Socrates,  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Pythagoras,  Archimedes,  before  the  time  of  the 
Great  Teacher;  of  Leibnitz,  Euler,  Sir  William  Hamilton. 
Cousin,  Dwight,  Nolfc,  and  Wayland,  since?  If  I  mistake  not, 
every  individual  in  this  list  commenced  business  by  teaching 
in  a  common  school;  that  is,  in  a  school  made  up  from  the 
common  people.  At  all  events  the  one  nobler  than  all,  is  no 
exception,  for  his  biographers  all  relate  that  kt  the  common 
people  heard  him  glally;"  and  he  never  objected  to  being 
called  by  his  pupils  or  u  disciples  "  ^LddaKaXog  (  Greek  for 
teac/ier  ;  though  the  word  is  generally  translated  master  in 
our  common  version,  King  James'  Bible.) 

A  true  ambition  is  a  heaven-born  inspiration,  and  being 
consecrated  to  God  and  humanity  is  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
A  perverted  ambition  is  the  essence  of  diabolism,  and 


LECTURE   V.  59 

being  consecrated  to  self  and  Satan,  is  a  rankling  venom  in 
the  soul  of  the  possessor,  a  withering  simoon  over  the  earth, 
blasting  communities  and  nationalities  with  misery,  sin  and 
death. 

A  good  teacher  without  a  true  ambition  is  a  contradiction 
of  facts,  an  impossibility.  Teachers  with  no  ambition  abound 
everywhere;  and  teachers  with  a  perverted  ambition,  are  not 
rare  in  these  days,  and  their  baleful  influence  is  one  of  the 
sti'ongest  barriers  to  the  progress  of  our  cause.  I  have 
neither  time  nor  disposition  now  to  characterize  their  action 
or  influence,  appropriately,  whether  as  effecting  states,  coun- 
ties, or  single  communities.  But  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that 
many  of  the  most  active  men  in  many  of  the  state  associations, 
even,  are  those  whose  unholy  self-seeking  is  as  obvious  to 
every  body  as  it  is  odious,  repulsive  and  disgusting  to  all 
teachers  not  in  their  rings. 

A  man,  woman  or  child  that  has  no  desire  to  shine  is  a 
poor  thing  indeed.  The  world  has  more  respect  for  high  sue 
cess  in  wrong  than  for  moderate  doings  in  right.  Thousands 
of  men  slaughtered  give  immunity  from  the  penalty  of  mur- 
der; if  not,  hundreds  of  thousands  will.  The  eminent  villain 
who  grasps  at  a  nation's  life,  finds  patriots  enough  to  go  on 
his  bail-bond  ;  but  the  timid,  half-conscience-stricken  wretch 
who  murders  stealthily  only  one,  attains  to  the  gallows  and 
general  execration.  The  man  who  steals  a  railroad  and  all  it? 
appurtenances,  rides  to  opulence  and  renown  on  his  prize, 
but  another  who  steals  a  horse,  finds  himself  transported  to 
the  penitentiary  by  the  sheer  insignificance  of  his  crime. 

Examples  multiply,  to  show  that  the  world  respects  emi- 
nence and  enterprise,  even  in  wrong.  An  atmosphere  of 
admiration  surrounds  the  atrocious  scoundrel,  when,  in  jus- 
tice, storms  of  execration  should  sweep  him  into  eternal 
infamy.  What  a  perplexing  problem  is  this  in  human  affairs, 
that  men  are  so  fierce,  audacious,  persistent  for  Sin  and  Self; 
and  yet  so  feeble,  faint-hearted  and  hesitating  for  God  and 
ihe  Right.  But  my  quarrel,  this  morning,  is  not  with  the 
world,  the  flesh  or  the  devil,  directly,  but  with  teachers  as  a 
profession,  for  being  so  shiftless,  for  having  so  little  proles- 


>  SCHOOL,   MANAGEMENT. 

sional  zeal,  so  little  personal  pride.  Take  this  one  fact. 
There  are  few  general  gatherings  of  teachers,  whether  in  the 
form  of  National  Conventions,  State  Associations,  or  County 
Institutes,  that  do  not  invite  some  briefless  lawyer,  patient- 
less  doctor,  or  aspiring  political  candidate,  to  address  them; 
and  all  quietly  submit  to  the  idea  of  receiving  instruction  in 
matters  that  numbers  of  them  have  made  a  life-work  and  a 
life  study  from  an  outsider,  who,  very  likely,  has  made  no 
headway  even  in  his  own  vocation.  To  me  this  custom  has 
always  appeared  as  bald  a  profession  of  constitutional  weak- 
ness and  general  debility  in  the  body  corporate  of  teachers, 
as  it  would  be  for  a  convention  of  physicians  to  call  on  a 
professional  teacher,  who  was  out  of  a  place,  to  give  his  views 
on  the  best  method  of  conducting  a  clinique,  or  to  deliver  a 
lecture  on  symptomatic  diagnosis,  or,  perhaps,  on  the  general 
bearing  of  the  medical  profession,  or  the  means  and  methods 
of  securing  a  paying  practice. 

I  think  I  see  the  judges  and  attorneys  of  the  Cincinnati 
bar,  inviting  Superintendent  Hancock  or  Professor  Venable, 
standing,  as  they  do,  in  the  front  rank  of  our  profession,  to 
deliver  an  address  on  the  uncertainties  of  the  law,  with  sug- 
gestions of  some  methods  of  reform  in  conducting  the  courts 
BO  that  clients  may  obtain  more  speedy  and  exact  justice. 

"With  this  general  state  of  affairs,  ambition  And  enterprise 
pushing  and  crowding  in  every  other  calling,  and  so  little 
motion  of  any  kind  in  our  profession  save  that  of  mutual 
jealousy  and  self-seeking,  you  are  ready  to  inquire  of  me, 
teachers,  "How  can  you  make  it  appear  that  teaching  pre- 
sents a  field  at  all  worthy  of  a  noble  ambition,  or  in  the  least 
inviting  to  an  enterprising  spirit?" 

If  ambition,  enterprise,  and  their  success,  are  to  be  meas- 
ured by  the  scale  of  political  elevation,  or  by  the  amount  of 
bullion  and  stocks  accumulated  in  speculation  and  swindling, 
whether  in  an  official  or  private  capacity,  the  teacher  is,  of 
all  men,  the  most  unfortunate;  and  I  rejoice  in  the  fact. 

But  if  ambition,  enterprise,  and  success,  are  to  be  esti- 
mated by  their  results  in  training  the  incoming  voters  to  put 
down  swindling,  and  wrench  the  grasp  of  rings  of  speculators 


LECTURE    V.  b'l 

from  the  public  treasury  and  national  domain,  I  know  of  no> 
business  that  affords  a  field  in  any  way  comparable  to  that  of 
teaching. 

Do  you  object,  that  this  would  be  teaching  politics;  II 
reply,  just  such  politics  as  justice  in  both  parties  demands. 

But  thorough-going  enterprise  can  and  will  develop  itself  in* 
a  teacher,  by  his  striving  to  make  every  school  that  he  takes- 
en  tirely  superior  to  what  it  ever  was  before,  and  by  his  deter- 
mination to  win  this  reputation,  for  every  school  or  system  of 
schools  that  comes  unier  his  charge. 

Indispensable  to  this  spirit  of  enterprise  in  the  teacher,  as> 
to  a  man  successful  in  any  other  calling,  are  earnest  effort,, 
and  self-sacrificing  devotion,  exhaustless  ingenuity  and  goodi 
judgment  in  planning;  promptitude  and  skill  in  executing 
every  plan ;  constant  aspiration  for  a  still  better  condition  of 
every  school  while  remaining  in  it,  and  a  persistent  purpose 
to  make  it  so,  every  successive  day,  and  every  successive 
term;  and  thus"  obtaining  for  himself  continually  a  better 
preparation  for  a  higher  position,  with  a  larger  salary  and 
more  commanding  influence. 

But  comprehended  in  this  general  view  of  the  teacher's 
work  as  a  field  of  enterprise,  is  the  acquisition  of  the  appro* 
priate  means  of  advancement;  among  which  may  be  men 
tioned,  a  good  library,  a  sufficient  apparatus,  and  a  practical 
knowledge  of  its  use  and  repair;  a  determination  to  avail 
himself  of  the  best  facilities  for  improvement  in  the  art  of 
teaching  and  school  management;  especially  of  the  advant- 
ages afforded  by  the  most  progressive  institution,  and  thus 
of  the  most  vigorous,  thorough  and  masterly  preparation  for 
the  highest  positions  the  business  can  offer. 

Again,  in  the  fact  that  the  existing  colleges  as  a  system- 
are,  to  a  large  extent,  effete  in  their  aims  and  methods,  handed 
down  from  the  dark  ages;  feeble  in  the  operations,  and  efforts 
of  salaried  professors;  and  any  thing  but  progressive  in  their 
spirit  and  enterprise,  lies  a  wide  field  open  for  private  en- 
terprise and  competition,  in  fitting  young  people  of  both 
sexes  for  their  life  work,  and  giving  them  such  a  preparation 
as  the  present  times  demand.  Already  some  have  entered 


62  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

it,  and  are  succeeding,  for  the  most  part,  proportionally  to 
the  real  advantages,  which  they  are  found,  on  sufficient  trial, 
to  hold  out,  as  inducements  to  win  popular  favor,  adequate 
patronage  and  support 

The  creation  and  management  of  a  private  institution  of 
learning,  entirely  by  one?d  own  energy  and  skill,  ambition  to 
excel,  and  determination  to  succeed.desire  to  do  good,  and  a 
humble  reliance  on  the  Master,  without  begging  of  any  ecclesi- 
astical or  political  body  for  endowments,  or  selling  unavailable 
scholarships,  and  yet  using  the  same  legitimate  means  which 
give  honorable  success  in  any  other  private  business  open  to 
fair  competition,  is  a  field  of  enterprise,  perhaps,  that  com- 
paratively few  will  desire  to  enter,  but  to  those  few  it  offers 
the  highest  style  of  attraction,  and  gives  the  richest  kind  of 
reward, 

REASON  VIJI.    A  FIELD  FOR  THE  EXERCISE  AND  CULTIVATION  OP 
PATRIOTISM,  PHIL ANTII ROPY  AND  SPIRITUALITY. 

There  is  still  a  higher  class  of  motives  to  energize  the 
teacher's  activity,  than  any  yet  adduced,  and  enhance  his  love 
for  his  work;  and  while  every  Christian  teacher  will  admit 
that  in  the  scale  of  importance  and  dignity  they  stand  the 
highest,  he  will  confess  with  me  his  fears  that  in  the  scale  of 
potency  and  appreciation  they  stand  the  lowest,  with  the 
great  majority  even  of  those  teachers  who  are  professors  of 
religion.  The  love  of  one's  country,  or  PATRIOTISM;  the  love 
of  one's  kind,  or  PHILANTHROPY;  the  love  of  Christ,  or  SPIRIT- 
UALITY, are  each  good  and  sufficient  reasons  why  teachers 
should  love  their  work  more  than  should  any  other  class  of 
protessional  men;  as  much  more  as  their  opportunities  are 
better  for  the  exercise  of  these  sentiments,  and  for  witness 
dng  the  immediate  fruits  of  their  labors. 

Let  us,  for  a  moment  compare  the  teacher's  position  with 
the  minister's.  Now,  I  hold  myself  second  to  no  man  in  the 
amount  and  degree  of  respect,  yes,  reverence  I  would  yield 
the  devoted  minister  of  Christ,  and  his  calling.  It  ;s  heareii- 
appointed;  and  if  the  world  is  as  bad  as  it  is,  with  the 
Ohnrcli,  its  ordinances  and  ministrations,  what  would  it  be 


LECTURE   V.  63 

without  them.  But  the  minister,  for  the  most  part,  labors 
with  adults,  whose  habits  and  purposes  are  fixed,  either  for 
good  or  evil.  His  field,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  is  re 
stricted  to  his  own  parish,  made  up  of  the  most  moral  and 
upright  men  and  women  in  the  community;  those  who  least 
need  the  gospel  preached  to  them. 

The  Christian  teacher,  on  the  other  hand,  deals  with 
children  and  youth  A\hose  habits  and  purposes  are  yet  in  the 
forming  state,  and  of  consequence  comparatively  easy  to 
influence  and  mold.  Their  affections  and  wills  are  yet  in 
that  incipient  budding  condition  of  activity, -which  renders 
them  peculiarly  responsive  to  kindly  effort  and  example, 
whether  it  be  in  the  direction  of  Patriotism  or  Christianity. 

But,  again,  the  teacher  of  a  public  school  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  children  of  all  classes  of  families,  those  of  every 
religious  persuasion,  and  those  who  adhere  to  none;  those  of 
both  political  parties,  and  those  who  eschew  politics ;  those 
who  belong  to  every  stratum  of  society,  and  those,  may  be, 
who  are  outcasts  from  all  society;  and  if  he  can  succeed,  as 
I  conceive  every  devoted  Christian  teacher  may,  he  will  win 
the  majority  of  his  pupils,  over  from  bigoted  sectarianism  to 
true  philanthropy;  from  bitter  partisan  prejudice,  to  a  gen- 
uine love  of  liberty,  and  a  just  appreciation  of  the  free  insti- 
tutions that  make  our  country  what  it  is,  the  Refuge  for 
the  oppressed  of  all  nations. 

Such  being  the  facts,  what  responsibility  devolves  on  us 
as  patriotic  Christian  workers,  that  we  do  not  permit  that 
inlluonce  inseparable  from  us,  to  work  injury  to  our  country's 
liberties,  or  detriment  to  our  Savior's  cause.  Shall  we  not 
rather  the  most  earnestly  consecrate  our  influence  and  ou* 
opportunities  to  the  amelioration  of  society  and  the  upbuild- 
ing of  Christ's  kingdom? 

Shall  we  not,  then,  the  more  love  our  work,  teachers,  as  we 
love  our  country,  as  we  desire  the  general  advancement  of 
civilization  and  righteous  governments  in  all  nations,  as  we 
are  grateful  to  our  Divine  Master  for  calling  us  to  such  a  post 
of  responsibility,  to  such  a  work  of  love,  a  work  so  pregnant 
with  possible  and  glorious  results  in  honor  of  his  name? 


64  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

Shall  we  not  the  more  earnestly  pray  the  Great  Teacher, 
that  he  will  endow  us  with  a  daily  increase  of  the  "  spirit  of 
a  sound  mind,"  of  a  fullness  of  purpose,  and  of  a  noble  daring 
to  do  his  will,  that  we  may  thus  make  some  little  return, 
meagsr  though  it  may  be,  for  his  infinite  goodness  and  for- 
bearance toward  us,  in  that  we,  so  unworthy,  are  permitted  to 
be  co-workers  with  him  in  building  up  his  Spiritual  Kingdom, 


LECTURE  ON   SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT 


LECTURE    VI. 
DIFFICULTIES. 

PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

IT  is  undeniable  that  many  engage  in  teaching  as  the 
only  course  of  avoiding  "hard  work."  Such  think  there  is 
little  else  to  do  in  the  school-room  than  to  sit  and  hear  the 
children  read  and  spell,  and  say  their  lessons,  and  thus  they 
are  going  to  have  a  good  easy  time  of  it;  certainly  easier 
than  chopping  cord  wood,  or  washing  dishes  and  scrubbing 
floors ;  and,  besides,  they  can  get  better  wages. 

There  are  too  many  boards  of  directors  that  are  willing 
to  employ  just  this  class  of  teachers,  because  they  can  hire 
them  for  five  or  ten  dollars  a  month  cheaper  than  any  others 
that  offer.  Such  directors  are  willing  to  intrust  the  instruc- 
tion and  training,  the  formation  of  life  long  habits  and  char- 
acter of  their  children  to  a  man  or  woman,  to  some  boy  or  girl, 
that  they  would  not  think  of  hiring  to  take  care  of  their  horses 
or  cows,  fattening  hogs  or  incubating  poultry,  even  though 
in  the  latter  case  the  work  would  come  frequently  under 
their  eyes ;  but  in  the  former  scarcely  ever,  if  at  all.  Such  is 
the  comparative  value  that  too  many  respectable  and  intel- 
ligent fathers  and  mothers  place  on  the  moral  growth  of  their 
boys  and  girls,  and  the  money  growth  of  their  colts  and 
calves,  goslings  and  chickens.  To  this  class  of  teachers  I 
have  nothing  to  say.  They  are  not  here.  If  they  attend  any 
5  « 


66  LECTURE    VI. 

institute  it  is  an  Examiner's  Institute,  as  their  only  method 
of  getting  a  legal  certificate  to  teach.  Let  those  examiners 
who  hold  institutes  to  fleece  weaklings,  and  authorize  them 
to  abuse  the  children,  deal  with  them  as  their  advertisements 
intimate. 

But  to  this  large  and  zealous  gathering  of  self-denying, 
devoted  teachers,  who  here  exhibit  a  willingness  to  spend 
some  adequate  amount  of  time,  money  and  labor  to  fit  your- 
selves honestly  and  honorably  for  doing  a  good  work  in  tho 
school-room,  I  have  much  to  offer  in  the  way  of  pointing  out 
difficulties ;  not  such  as  will  stand  in  the  way  of  your  getting 
through  a  term  and  drawing  your  money;  but  such  as  will  be 
likely  to  prevent  your  highest  success  as  Christian  artists, 
determined  to  do  the  best  work  ever  done  in  that  school 
where  you  shall  engage,  desirous  of  building  up  a  reputation 
that  shall  bring  you  better  opportunities  to  do  a  nobler  work, 
and  ambitious  to  occupy  sooner  or  later  an  honorable  position 
among  the  leaders  in  your  profession. 

Some  of  these  difficulties  I  shall  merely  mention,  here, 
deferring  their  discussion  and  methods  of  removal  to  the 
development  of  a  plan  of  school  management,  which  I  shall 
bring  out  as  a  system  in  due  time.  Other  difficulties  of  a 
more  special  character  I  shall  now  discuss,  presenting  some 
special  methods  for  disposing  of  them  in  the  discussion. 

DIFFICULTY  I.    INSUBORDINATION  FROM  BAD  PREDECESSORS. 

The  difficulty  that  will  be  likely  to  meet  you  in  entering 
a  new  school  will  be  the  general  spirit  of  insubordination, 
which  prevails  as  the  necessary  result  of  bad  previous  man- 
agement. From  incompetent,  inefficient  teachers,  who  for 
want  of  moral  or  intellectual  power  were  compelled  to  use 
physical  force  in  government,  the  school  has  acquired  a  hard 
name,  and  you  will  hear  it  spoken  of  as  the  worst  school  in 
the  county,  perhaps.  It  has  been  growing  worse  for  a  long 
time.  One  teacher  after  another  has  been  turned  out  by  the 
directors,  barred  out  by  the  boys,  driven  away  by  prosecution 
of  some  man  whose  boy  he  had  knocked  down  in  a  fight ;  or 
he  simply  left  in  disgust.  The  boys  by  this  kind  of  training, 
winter  after  winter,  are,  if  you  listen  to  their  own  account  of 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  67 

themselves,  a  ruffianly  set.  In  short,  the  school  is  about  as 
bad  as  it  can  be. 

Here  is  surely  a  difficulty,  though  in  few  cases  has  it 
reached  the  point  here  described.  Still  in  the  majority  of 
schools  in  which  you  will  engage,  this  difficulty  will  exist  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  generally  in  the  greater. 

Now,  there  are  two  wajrs  of  meeting  it.  One  is  to  quell 
the  insubordination  and  general  spirit  of  misrule  by  your 
good  right  arm,  as  your  predecessors  tried  to  do;  assuming 
that  this  is  really  the  worst  set  of  scholars  you  ever  saw,  and 
you  are  the  man  to  bring  them  to  terms,  and  that  you  will 
utake  the  kinks  out  of  them."  The  result  will  be.  probably, 
just  as  it  has  been  with  your  predecessors,  floggings,  fights, 
and  fusses  without  number,  prosecutions  from  the  parents, 
hatred  from  the  children,  till  you  will  be  glad  to  quit  the 
iield.  But  if  you  fight  it  through,  and,  with  the  help  of  the 
directors,  expel  some  of  the  worst  boys  from  school,  and  have 
comparatively  quiet  times  afterward,  you  have  achieved  a 
barren  victory,  The  results  are  terrible  for  a  philanthropic 
mind  to  contemplate. 

Another  method  of  dealing  with  such  a  difficulty,  and  one 
in  which  a  lady  teacher  will  be  quite  as  likely  to  succeed  as 
a  gentleman,  I  shall  develop  after  a  while.  For  the  present^ 
I  leave  the  difficulty,  with  the  remark,  that  I  consider  such  a 
district,  and  such  a  school,  rather  a  desirable  field  of  labor; 
yes,  a  very  hopeful  one.  The  bad  character  will  never  deter 
a  true  teacher  from  engaging,  but  rather  excite  his  spirit  of 
enterprise  and  philanthropy. 


DIFFICULTY  II.    INSUBORDINATION  FROM  A  GOOD  PREDECESSOR. 

i 

The  next  difficulty  which  demands  our  attention,  is  the 
insubordination  arising  from  perfect  confidence  in  the  in- 
struction and  management  of  your  predecessor.  This  is  much 
more  formidable  than  the  difficulty  just  given,  and  requires 
special  management. 

First,  let  us  see  how  the  difficulty  manifests  itself: 
Mr.  Smith,  you  are  compared  in  every  act  and  plan  with 
Mr.  Smart^  the  last  teacher.     Whatever  you  do  or  propose  to 


t)8  LKCTUKE    VI. 

do,  is  brought  to  Mr.  Smart's  standard,  and  always  to  youi 
disadvantage.  If  you  wish  a  pupil  to  rise  when  he  recites, 
*4Mr.  Smart,  let  us  sit."  If  you  desire  the  children  to  hang  up 
their  hats  and  over-clothes  when  they  enter,  "Mr.  Smart,  let 
us  lay  them  on  the  wood-pile,  or  anywhere."  II  you  desire 
them  to  come  in  from  recess  when  the  bell  rings,  "  Mr.  Smart 
always  came  out  and  called  us  in;  he  didn't  treat  us  like 
plantation  niggers."  If  you  open  the  school  with  prayer  and 
singing,  "Mr.  Smart  closed  the  school  with  prayer,  and  didn't 
have  any  singing."  And  so  on. 

If  you  try  to  overcome  this  difficulty  by  showing  the  su- 
periority of  your  plans  and  methods,  and  thus  directly  or 
indirectly  speak  to  the  disparagement  of  Mr.  Smart,  you  will 
only  increase  the  difficulty,  and  you  will  be  charged  with 
being  jealous,  and  treating  Mr.  Smart  "real  mean." 

A  much  better  way  is  to  grant  every  thing  for  Mr.  Smart 
that  the  children  claim,  and  even  to  exceed  them  in  your 
praise,  if  you  can  conscientiously.  Give  the  children  credit  for 
thinking  so  much  of  their  old  teacher.  It  really  does  spring 
from  a  noble  feeling,  and  on  this  feeling  you  can  base  a  good 
hope  of  like  or  superior  success.  After  this  difficulty  has 
fully  developed  itself,  and  has  become  sufficiently  annoying? 
I  would  take  some  fit  opportunity  an<:-.  make  a  little  speech 
something  like  this ; 

"Scholars,  I  am  glad  you  think  so  much  of  Mr.  Smart.  1 
have  no  doubt  he  was  a  good  teacher  and  a  worthy  man.  The 
fact  that  you  seem  to  esteem  your  former  teacher  so  highly, 
speaks  well  for  both  him  and  you.  I  have  no  doubt  his  plans 
of  management  and  methods  of  instruction  were  good,  and  I 
surely  do  not  wish  to  blame  you  for  thinking  so.  I  think  EO 
myself. 

"  But  while  his  plans  and  methods  were  good  for  him,  and 
you  like  him  for  having  plans  of  his  own,  you  surely  could 
not  respect  me  for  trying  to  imitate  him.  If  I  am  to  have  your 
respect  and  enjoy  your  confidence,  I  must  have  plans  of  my 
own,  and  such  as  are  adapted  to  my  methods  of  instruction.  His 
plans  were  good  for  him,  mine  are  good  for  me.  If  you  will 
help  me  carry  them  out,  and  try  to  feel  that  I  am  working  for 
your  advantage,  and  endeavoring  to  please  and  benefit  you 


6CHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  69 

In  every  thing  I  ask  of  you,  I  think  you  will  soon  like  my 
plans,  and  you  will  find  that  you  are  advancing  rapidly  in 
your  studies,  and  enjoying  yourselves  well.  On  the  other 
hand,  by  watching  to  find  fault,  and  complying  reluctantly 
with  my  requests  and  opposing  my  wishes  for  your  good, 
you  can  defeat  any  thing  I  can  do  for  you;  and  such  a  course 
would  work  in  the  same  way  with  any  other  teacher,  whoever 
he  might  be." 

Now,  by  pursuing  the  course  indicated  in  this  hypothetical 
talk,  modified  to  suit  the  circumstances,  you  can  hardly  fail  to 
find  reasonable  pupils,  and  those  who  will  'soon  take  as  much 
pride  in  the  new  teacher  as  in  the  old  one. 


DIFFICULTY  III.     GENERAL  PREJUDICE  AGAINST  NOVELTIES. 

You  will  probably  take  a  school  in  some  country  district 
or  rural  village,  where  the  "new  teacher"  receives  the  usual 
attention  of  a  few  days'  gossip,  and  is  the  standing  theme  of 
remark  in  the  shops  and  stores  next  in  importance  to  the 
weather  and  the  crops.  If  you  follow  the  old  well-worn  track 
of  rote  or  rant,  you  will  presently  fall  out  of  the  sphere  of 
gossip,  and  be  as  thoroughly  let  alone  as  most  of  your  prede- 
cessors were.  But  if  you  are  determined  to  make  a  good  school, 
and  take  measures  accordingly,  you  will  continue  to  be  carped 
at  and  criticised  in  proportion  to  the  novelty  and  efficiency 
of  your  operations. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  you  require  the  grammar  class  to 
study  their  lessons  by  writing  them  out  on  paper.  This 
method  being  new  and  requiring  the  extra  expense  as  would 
be  claimed  of  paper  and  pens,  very  likely  would  be  stigma 
tized  as  a  new-fangled  notion,  and  would  excite  remarks  and 
opposition  in  the  district  that  would  seriously  interfere  with 
its  success,  and  with  your  success  in  carrying  through  other 
plans  which  you  might  well  judge  necessary  to  what  you 
would  consider  a  good  school. 

I  only  mention  this  one  novelty  as  an  example,  and  you 
could  hardly  proceed  without  offending  the  petulant  wisdom 
of  Squire  Rote,  and  the  critical  asperity  of  Aunt  Gossip  more 
and  more  daily,  till  the  restiveness  and  impudence  of  the 


70  LECTURE    VI. 

Rote  children  and  the  Gossip  children  would  infect  the  whole 
school,  and  render  your  position  very  uncomfortable,  if  not 
entirely  untenable. 

The  remedy  for  this  evil,  is  not  in  riding  over  popular 
opinion,  or  in  succumbing  to  it.  Neither  course  will  be  likely 
to  serve  your  purpose.  I  would  rather  recommend  the  plan 
of  prevention,  by  first  advising  with  the  directors,  and  secur- 
ing their  assent  and  approbation ;  then  I  would  carefully  and 
clearly  demonstrate  to  the  pupils  interested,  the  superiority 
of  the  new  method  over  the  old,  showing  a  perfect  famil 
iarity  with  the  old  method  by  taking  off  its  disadvantages, 
and  presenting  in  contrast  the  excellence  of  the  new.  I 
would  then  propose  that  the  class  try  the  new  method  for  a 
week  or  two,  to  see  whether  they  would  like  the  change, 
saying,  that  c^If  we  don't  like  the  new  method,  we  can  return 
to  the  old  at  any  time." 

DIFFICULTY  IV.     BAD  HABITS  IN  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM.- 

Their  name  is  legion,  but  there  is  one  which  is  the  atmos- 
phere for  all  the  rest  to  live  and  breathe  in.  It  is  generally 
called  whispering.  I  shall  call  it  communication,  as  whisper- 
ing is  only  one  of  the  thousand  ways  in  which  communica- 
tion can  be  carried  on,  in  the  school-room. 

If  this  one  bad  habit  can  not  be  controlled  little  good  can 
be  accomplished.  Do  not  suppose  I  wish  you  to  subdue  this 
habit  by  fear  or  force.  It  will  be  of  little  use  for  you  to  en- 
force a  law  against  whispering  by  scolding  or  punishment. 
The  evil  will  only  be  increased  by  such  a  course,  and  many 
worse  ones  introduced. 

The  description  of  some  "  better  methods"  of  preventing 
whispering  and  other  forms  of  communication  will  be  given 
hereafter,  also  for  removing  other  bad  habits  involved  in  this 
and  sustained  by  it, 

DIFFICULTY  V.     THE  INTERFERENCE  OF  PARENTS. 

This  is  a  difficulty  which  it  is  hard  to  reach.  I  have  often 
said,  and  you  have  often  felt,  "If  I  had  only  my  scholars  to 
manage  I  could  get  along  finely."  But  a  teacher  has  to  man- 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  71 

age  a  whole  community.  If  he  is  a  man  of  any  force  and 
dares  to  introduce  new  ideas  and  usages  into  his  school,  and 
when  the  parents  and  all  the  old  crones  and  gossips  set  in  to 
work  against  him,  he  finds  a  difficulty  which  can  only  be 
reached  by  the  long  arm  of  influence.  It  would  better  have 
been  foreseen  and  removed  before  it  had  been  met. 

It  is  exceedingly  important  that  the  teacher  carry  the 
popular  voice  with  him,  both  of  school  and  community;  but 
he  will  almost  always  find  that  the  very  cases,  which  cost  hire 
the  most  labor  and  self-sacrifice,  are  those  which  bring  upon 
him  the  most  censure ;  that  those  parents,  whose  children 
have  taxed  his  ingenuity,  toil  and  patience  the  most,  are  the 
first  and  only  ones  to  complain. 

Such  interference  will,  of  course,  have  a  tendency  to  chill 
a  teacher's  ardor  and  repress  his  energy;  but  to  the  true 
teacher  it  will  act  as  the  highest  kind  of  stimulus,  and  arouse 
a  degree  of  spirit  and  determination  that  will  compass  the 
difficulty  and  turn  it  to  his  ultimate  advantage.  In  the  lecture 
on  strategy,  I  shall  show  how  this  was  done  in  one  case,  at, 
least. 

DIFFICULTY  VI.     AMOUNT  OF  LABOR  TO  BE  PERFORMED. 

1.  Hesitations.  As  your  success  in  managing  a  school 
will  depend  mainly  on  your  power  in  conducting  recitations, 
and  in  exciting  your  pupils,  not  only  to  activity  in  close  at- 
tention and  real  work  during  the  recitation,  but  in  arousing 
such  an  earnestness  in  the  subject  matter  as  will  secure 
energetic  study  during  the  study  hours,  it  is  essential  that 
you  have  sufficient  time  to  accomplish  this.  It  takes  time  to 
wake  up  mind  and  bring  it  into  vigorous,  working  condition. 

In  this  school  our  recitations  are  fifty  or  sixty  minutes  long? 
and  we  always  think  them  too  short  to  do  what  we  desire 
to.  But  let  us  see  how  long  they  will  be  in  an  ordinary 
district  school,  where  a  tolerably  good  classification  can  be 
effected.  There  will  be  three  classes  in  Arithmetic,  two 
classes  in  Geography,  two  in  Grammar,  five  in  Reading,  five 
in  Spelling,  one  in  Writing.  But  the  Reading  and  Spelling 
classes  must  be  attended  to  twice  daily.  So  much  for  the 
common  branches.  There  are  then  about  twenty  different 


72  i^ECTURE    VI. 

recitations  or  drills  in  the  common  branches,  saying  nothing 
of  two  or  three  classes  in  higher  branches,  which  you  are 
expected  to  have  in  almost  any  district  that  would  offer  pay- 
ing wages.  But  how  many  hours  do  you  teach?  Not  less 
than  six,  nor  more  than  seven.  What  then  must  be  the  aver- 
age length  of  a  recitation,  after  taking  out  a  half-hour  for 
recesses  and  changes  of  classes  ?  Hardly  fifteen  minutes. 
An  hour  is  too  short  for  us  where  all  our  pupils  are  anxious  to 
do  their  best,  and  the  teachers  have  no  interruptions  in  keep- 
ing order  or  otherwise.  What  then  can  you  do  in  fifteen 
minutes  where  you  find  anything  else  than  willingness  to 
work,  and  when  you  are  subject  to  frequent  interruptions? 
Under  such  difficulties  more  time  is  required  to  bring  your 
classes  into  good  working  order,  instead  of  less,  one  quarter 
or  one-third  as  much,  as  you  see  you  really  have.  Then  we 
find  the  labor  required  of  a  teacher  in  conducting  his  recita- 
tion is  enough  for  two  persons  at  least;  in  other  words,  he 
ought  to  have  an  assistant,  and  his  school  ought  to  be  a  graded 
school,  with  at  least  two  departments. 

In  fact,  the  labor  of  properly  teaching  and  managing  a 
district  school,  or  an  academy  of  sixty  or  eighty  pupils,  is  just 
about  equal  to  teaching  and  managing  the  three  hundred,  and 
more,  that  we  have  here.  Now  we  employ  from  six  to  ten 
teachers,  in  regular  branches,  besides  others  in  extra  branches, 
and  none  of  you  have  reason  to  complain  that  your  teachers 
do  too  much  for  you,  I  suppose,  or  that  we  perform  work 
which  properly  belongs  to  you. 

If  hearing  recitations  were  the  only  labor,  even  though 
twice  as  much  as  you  can  do  well,  you  might  consider  your- 
self fortunate. 

2.  Attending  to  necessary  wants.  Though  your  pupils 
may  be  comparatively  orderly  and  well  disposed,  the  wants 
which  they  think  necessary  will  be  numerous  and  must 
receive  your  attention,  or  disorder  and  confusion  are  the  result. 
One  wants  to  borrow  a  slate  pencil,  another  a  pen,  a  third  a 
dictionary,  a  fourth  a  piece  of  paper,  a  fifth  some  ink,  a  sixth 
a  knife.  One  asks,  "May  I  go  out?"  another  "May  I  get  a 
drink?"  a  third,  "Mayn't  I  fix  the  fire?"  a  fourth,  "May  I 
raise  the  window?"  a  fifth,  "May  I  speak?"  a  sixth,  «I  don't 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  73 

know  where  the  grammar  lesson  is  ;"  and  thus  your  time  may 
be  given  entirely  to  satisfying  the  pupils  in  what  seems  to 
them  reasonable  wants,  to  say  nothing  of  unreasonable  ones. 
But  how  is  your  recitation  progressing  the  meanwhile  ? 

3.  Watching  idle  and  mischievous  pupils.  If  you  are  en- 
dowed with  a  good  degree  of  patience  the  two  difficulties 
previously  mentioned  may  be  endured,  and  the  day  pass 
without  being  entirely  wasted,  but  the  idle  and  mischievous 
must  have  your  constant  attention ;  or,  from  lack  of  interest 
in  any  good  direction,  they  will  furnish  you  with  enough  busi- 
ness to  occupy  your  time,  in  quieting  the  disorder  which  they 
in  wanton  sport  or  designed  annoyance,  create.  Now  these 
mischief-makers  must  be  managed;  a  school  without  them 
would  indeed  be  a  dull,  monotonous  place;  but  it  takes  time 
and  labor  to  convert  the  spirit  of  mischief  and  love  of  fun, 
into  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  the  love  of  study.  It  can  be 
done,  however. 

4.  Discipline.  The  general  arrangements  and  ordinary 
management  of  the  school  take  some  considerable  time, 
which  of  course  must  abridge  the  time  for  recitations.  But 
the  special  cases  of  delinquency ;  as  whispering,  idleness,  mis- 
chief; tardiness,  absenteeism,  quarreling;  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  must 
be  corrected,  each  separately,  and  thus,  were  there  no  other 
interruptions,  these  would  necessarily  very  much  impair  the 
interest  of  recitations. 

It  may  be  said,  that  most  cases  of  discipline  may  be  de- 
ferred till  after  school  hours.  In  other  words,  scholars  should 
be  "kept  after  school"  when  they  misbehave  and  neglect 
their  studies. 

I  have  three  serious  objections  to  this  very  prevalent 
method  of  discipline. 

Objection  1,  "to  keeping  pupils  in?  It  requires  my  own 
confinement  with  the  pupil,  when  I  need  the  time,  for  rest, 
recreation  or  study. 

Objection  2.  It  makes  the  school  room  a  prison  to  the 
pupil.  Those  teachers  who  use  this  kind  of  punishment,need 
not  be  surprised  to  hear  pupils  long  for  the  close  of  the  term 
and  freedom  from  such  a  prison,  rather  than  the  expression 
of  regret  that  the  school  is  so  soon  to  close. 


74  LECTURE  VI. 

Objection  3.  Compulsory  study  can  never  be  otherwise 
than  oppressive  and  odious;  whereas  the  true  teacher's  con 
stant  aim  is  to  make  all  school  duties  pleasant  and  attractive. 
And  then  the  only  punishment  that  such  a  teacher  need 
inflict,  is  the  deprivation  of  the  privilege  of  engaging  in 
some  school  duty,  instead  of  compelling  the  pupil  to  work  in 
extra  hours. 

5.  Writing  copies.  When  will  you  set  copies  for  writing- 
lessons? 

6.  Working  difficult  Problems.     How  are  you  to  work  out 
the  a  hard  sums  "  for  those  who  say  "  I  have  tried  and  can't  do  it. 

7.  General  Business.  When  is  the  time  for  general  ex- 
hortation, encouragement,  reproof,  restraint,  and  the  transac- 
tion of  other  general  business? 

Thus,  we  see  that  the  one  who  sets  up  for  a  Lazy  Man  has 
missed  his  location,  wonderfully,  when  he  takes  a  country 
school.  He'd  better  take  a  contract  for  cutting  and  piling 
cord-wood,  at  the  rate  of  three  cords  a  day;  or  undertake  to 
'tend  sixty  acres  of  corn  in  a  season,  than  attempt  to  pursue 
his  vocation  in  a  school-room. 

It  was  not  my  design  to  show,  here,  how  this  seven-fold 
amount  of  labor  can  be  reduced  to  manageable  limits,  and 
how  the  teacher  can  do  much  good,  under  such  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, and  even  acquire  a  good  reputation  for  efficiency 
and  success;  I  shall  defer  this  to  a  general  scheme  of  school 
management  which  I  hope  to  offer  for  your  consideration  in 
due  time. 

DIFFICULTY  VII.     IRREGULARITY  IN  ATTENDANCE. 

This  evil  is  most  likely  to  occur  in  the  case  of  those  pupils 
who  are  least  interested  in  their  studies,  and  who  from  want 
of  natural  quickness  or  from  meagerness  of  opportunity,  have 
never  been  aroused  to  feel  any  relish  for  reading,  study,  or 
any  other  intellectual  effort.  Such  being  the  dullest  and 
most  backward,  need  every  day  and  hour  of  school  to  keep 
up  with  their  classes.  A  pupil  of  the  more  energetic  and 
interested  class  can  be  spared  a  day,  now  and  then,  without 
special  injury  to  himself,  or  disturbance  to  his  classes.  Such 
a  pupil  is  seldom  or  never  absent. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  '/«> 

9 

But  there  is  James  Carringtou.  a  boy  hereditarily  sluggish, 
and  for  want  of  interest  on  the  part  of  his  parents,  has  been 
permitted  or  required  to  attend  school  but  little.  He  is  the 
most  backward  in  every  class,  and  little  inclined  to  hold  any 
other  position.  In  his  classes,  James  excites  your  sympathy, 
and  you  give  him  your  moct  special  and  earnest  efforts,  in  all 
kindness,  and  patience,  and  you  bestow  them  day  after  day, 
till  you  begin  to  feel  somewhat  encouraged  in  his  behalf. 
Here,  let  me  say,  parenthetically,  if  you  feel  any  prejudice 
or  repugnance  toward  such  a  pupil  as  James,  begin  to  work 
for  him,  and  try  to  do  him  good,  and  your  antipathy  will  soon 
be  superseded  by  a  real  interest  in  his  case.  Still  the  difficulty 
s  that  just  as  you  are  able  to  notice  that  James  is  becoming 
somewhat  diligent,  and  his  ambition  is  at  last  reached  and 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  is  taking  some  pleasure  in 
mental  effort,  he  is  absent  from  school. 

What  is  the  matter  now?  Why  is  James  out  of  school  a 
day?  -'Why,  father  was  going  to  the  city,  and  said  I  might 
go  along  if  I  wanted  to." 

Thus  your  labor  all  has  to  be  done  over  again,  and  it  is  often 
more  difficult  to  interest  James  the  second  time  than  the  first. 
But,  you  try  again  and  partially  succeed  again,  and  about  this 
time  James  is  missing  again ;  and  so  on,  till  he  must  fall  back 
into  lower  classes,  and  then  begs  his  father  to  let  him  go  to 
work.  The  father  is  not  unwilling,  thinks  James  has  more 
larnin  now  than  ever  he  had,  and  he  can't  afford  to  lose 
James's  work  any  longer. 

This  kind  of  school  labor  is  the  most  trying  to  a  conscien- 
tious teacher,  taxing  his  energy  and  ingenuity,  his  patience 
and  charity  to  their  utmost  limit.  How  many,  even  of  con- 
scientious teachers,  are  willing  to  work  continuously  for  such 
a  boy  against  his  own  desire  and  the  interference  of  his 
parents,  and  try  to  make  something  of  him  in  spite  of  such 
difliculties  ?  I  have  known  a  few  who  have  done  it,  and  with 
success. 

Some  superintendents  and  teachers  require  pupils  to 
"bring  up7'  their  lessons  lost  by  absence,  and  detain  them 
w  after  school  "for  the  purpose.  In  my  mind  this  is  all  wrong. 
For,  admit  that  the  missed  lessons  are  lenrned  by  this  impria- 


76  LECTURE   VL 

• 

onment,  it  is  very  oppressive  to  the  teacher  to  be  compelled 
to  remain  in  the  school-room  extra  hours,  forcing  children  to 
study,  being  made  both  a  jailor  and  constable  in  the  operation. 
But  the  worst  feature  is  that  the  remedy  only  increases  the 
disease.  This  imprisonment  and  compulsory  study  only  make 
the  school-room  more  repulsive,  study  more  irksome,  and  the 
teacher  more  hateful,  to  the  pupils  whom  she  wishes  to 
win. 

Now,  the  knowledge  any  pupil  may  acquire  of  geography, 
or  grammar,  or  arithmetic,  is  not  the  only  object  to  be  aimed 
at,  and  worked  for,  by  the  true  teacher;  but  rather  a  thou- 
sand fold  let  the  teacher  work  to  excite  a  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, a  love  for  school  duties,  and  an  earnest  desire  to 
prepare  himself  in  his  school  work,  for  his  life  work;  all  of 
which  objects  are  most  surely  defeated  by  this  prison-labor, 
force- work  operation. 

But,  some  one  present  inquires,  how  are  my  pupils  to  get 
good  per  cents  at  their  examinations,  if  I  let  them  have  their 
own  way?  I  reply  that  this  course  you  are  pursuing  is 
forcing  them  by  antagonism  to  hate  the  very  things  that  you 
want  them  to  love,  and  brings  all  the  burden  of  good  pei 
cents  for  your  pupils  on  yourself,  the  pupils  working  as  far  as 
they  dare  against  you.  I  would  prefer  such  a  course,even  in 
a  per  cent  system,  as  would  secure  the  co-operation  of  the 
pupils  rather  than  their  opposition. 

Do  you  wish  to  know  how  I  would  do  it?  Before  I  close 
this  course  of  lectures  I  shall  try  to  point  out  some  of  the 
various  methods  by  which  a  higher  and  more  energetic  course 
of  school  ambition  can  be  excited  and  maintained. 

I  have,  now,  given  seven  difficulties,  in  this  lecture.  In  my 
next,  I  shall  consider  seven  more,  equally  potent  for  your 
annoyance  or  defeat,  in  your  good  work. 


LECTURE  ON   SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT 


LECTURE     VII. 
DIFFICULTIES  IN   SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 

DIFFICULTY  VIII.     TARDINESS. 

No  school  difficulty  has  received  so  much  attention  in 
our  educational  periodicals,  and  none  is  so  often  called  up 
for  discussion  in  teachers'  gatherings  as  this.     It  is,  indeed^ 
one  of  the  most  trying  and  vexatious.     The  causes  are  nu- 
merous in  the  pupil,  but  more  numerous  in  the  parents,  and 
vastly  more  unmanageable. 

One  of  these  is  the  overwork  of  mothers.  The  mother 
may  have  five  or  six  children  to  take  care  of,  she  must  try  to 
please  her  husband,  and  see  that  the  coffee  and  steak  are  not 
spoiled  for  his  breakfast.  She  has  to  oversee  a  servant  or, 
two,  when  it  would  always  be  easier  to  do  the  work  herself, 
if  she  had  the  strength.  She  has  several  hired  men  to  board, 
and  not  anfrequently  company  to  entertain.  How  can  she 
always  get  her  children  off  to  school  in  time? 

The  first  bell  strikes  for  school,  and  the  good  mother,  full 
of  all  sorts  of  work  and  care,  hears  it.  She  calls  Mary ;  tells 
her  to  find  Julia,  and  comb  her  hair,  and  put  on  her  clean 
apron;  tells  James  to  wash  his  face  and  hands  and  start 
quick,  or  he'll  be  too  late  again;  and  the  rest,  the  little  ones 
she  tries  to  get  ready  for  school,  in  less  than  no  time.  She 
knows  all  this  ought  to  have  been  done  before  the  first  bell 
struck,  but  she  had  more  of  other  things  on  hand  than  she 


78  LECTURE    VII. 

could  possibly  manage.     How  can  she,  I  say,  always  see  that 
her  children  are  away  in  time  for  school  ? 

But  mothers  and  their  cares  are  not  the  only  obstacles. 
The  father  says  to  James,  just  as  he  is  starting  for  school, 
" There,  James,  I  forgot  to  have  you  take  Charley  to  tho 
blacksmith's  before  breakfast;  you  must  do  it  now."  "I  shall 
be  late  to  school,  pa,  and  the  teacher  won't  like  it."  "  I  'm 
sorry  I  didn't  think  of  it  before,  James ;  but  you  will  have  to 
be  too  late  this  time,  or  I  shall  have  to  send  a  hand  and  he'll 
lose  a  half-hour's  work." 

From  the  unmanageable  character  of  these  affairs  at 
home,  and  the  desire  to  be  reasonable  with  pupils,  many 
teachers  adopt  the  plan  of  receiving  written  excuses  from 
parents.  Though  I  do  not  condemn  this  practice  as  bad  in  all 
cases,  it  generally  tends  to  increase  the  evil ;  and  worse  than 
that,  it  offers  a  strong  temptation  to  deceit  in  getting  forged 
excuses,  and  in  loitering  by  the  way  longer  than  if  the  excuse 
were  not  in  hand  for  protection.  Thus,  it  seems  to  me  that  it 
requires  more  care  and  time  to  watch  these  written  excuses, 
and  see  that  they  are  not  the  means  of  deception,  than  to 
watch  the  pupils  without  them.  But  I  would  try  to  arrange 
matters  so  as  not  to  be  compelled  to  do  either. 

So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  never  would  receive  any  ex- 
cuses, either  oral  or  written,  for  tardiness,  nor  absenteeism ; 
but  always  try  to  hold  the  school  and  school  privileges  in 
such  estimation,  that  the  pupil  would  consider  it  punish- 
ment enough  to  be  kept  away  from  school,  and  thus  instead 
of  complaining  of  the  pupil  for  tardiness  or  absence,  and 
punishing  him,  I  have  to  express  my  sympathy  with  him,  for 
his  loss  in  being  kept  away  from  opening  exercises,  or  in 
being  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  his  class  recitations. 

But,  perhaps,  some  one  of  you  will  say,  "That  will  do  very 
well  for  you,  Mr.  Holbrook,  and  it  sounds  very  well  in  theory, 
but  in  practice,  I  expect  to  find  in  skating  time  or  marble 
playing  time  that  several  of  my  boys,  and  those  I  am  the 
most  anxious  for,  will  frequently  be  tardy,  and  even  play 
hookey  now  and  then.  It  is  such  cases  as  these,  that  I  would 
like  to  have  you  tell  us  how  to  manage." 

Well,  I'll  try,  though  I  never  had  any  such  cases,  and 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  79 

you  ought  not,  and  will  not,  if  your  school  is  sufficiently 
attractive.  It  will  require  some  power  and  skill  on  your 
part,  to  make  your  general  exercises  and  your  recitations- 
more  interesting  and  attractive  than  skating  and  marble 
playing.  But  you  can  do  it.  I  have  known  many  teachers 
to  control  the  evil  so  far  as  to  make  it  a  real  advantage  in 
stimulating  themselves  to  extra  and  continuous  effort  to  make 
themselves  interesting — even  using  the  comparative  amount 
of  promptitude  or  tardiness,  as  a  scale  by  which  to  judge 
of  their  own  power  and  skill  in  working  for  the  good  of  the 
school. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  some  of  the  methods  or 
artifices  by  which  tardiness  has  been  in  many  instances  re- 
duced to  an  inappreciable  quantity,  if  not  entirely  removed. 

Artifice    1. 

For  securing  promptitude  in  attendance.  I  would  place 
some  attractive  exercise,  in  which  all  the  pupils  can  engage, 
at  the  opening  of  school  in  the  morning,  also  some  interest- 
ing recitation  or  general  drill  at  the  commencement  of  I  he 
afternoon  session. 

Some  of  these  exercises  which  I  have  made  sufficiently 
attractive  to  draw,  for  a  while,  I  will  enumerate : 

1.  Object  Lessons.    It  is  my  purpose  to  give  one  lecture 
in  this  course  on  object  lessons,  in  order  to  show  how  they 
can  be  used  for  this  purpose  without  waste  of  time;  for  it  can 
be  done,  as  badly  as  they  are  generally  abused. 

2.  Scientific  Experiments  and  Instruction.     In  our  Nat- 
ural-science classes    here,   Botany,  Physiology,  Natural  Phi- 
losophy and  Chemistry,  the  teachers  give  especial  attention 
to  this  feature,  in  the  management  of  these  classes ;  and  any 
pupil  teacher  who  desires  it,  will  qualify  himself  or  herself  in 
these  classes  to  give  an  interesting  and  attractive  course  of 
experiments  and  illustrations,  with  little  outlay  for  apparatus 
or  materials,  and  with  great  advantage  to  his  own  practical 
scientific  knowledge. 

Botany,  especially,  affords  a  theme  for  a  very  exciting  and 
profitable  course  of  morning  exercises  during  the  flowering 
months;  only  one  book  is  necessary,  (a  Gray's  or  Wood's 


80  LECTURE   VII. 

Manual),  but  the  scholars  should  supply  themselves  every 
morning  with  fresh  flowers,  of  such  a  kind  as  the  teacher 
shall  direct  the  previous  morning. 

So,  Physiology  may  be  used  as  a  subject  in  flowerless 
months;  the  teacher  and  pupils  furnishing  specimens  of 
bones,  muscles,  eyes,  etc.,  from  domestic  animals,  and  to  some 
extent  using  their  own  persons  for  illustration. 

3.  Daily  School  Paper.  This  may  be  prepared  and  read 
alternately  by  a  girl  and  boy,  on  successive  mornings.  The 
respective  editors  can  be  designated  by  the  teacher  three  or 
four  days  in  advance,  so  that  the  labor  of  preparing  a  paper 
may  not  interfere  with  regular  school  duties.  I  have  known 
school  papers  thus  conducted  to  prove  of  great  advantage, 
otherwise  than  in  inciting  to  promptitude. 

4.  Mental  Arithmetic.     A  drill  in  this  branch  may  be  so 
managed  as  to  interest  all  grades  of  pupils,  for  a  time,  and 
prove  very  profitable  as  an  aid  to  the  study  of  written  arith- 
metic. 

5.  Orthography  and    Orthoepy.     A  drill   for   the  whole 
school  in  the  elementary  sounds;  and  orthographic  parsing, 
hab  been   made   very  attractive   for  a  few  weeks,  winning 
prompt  and  eager  attendance  of  all  pupils.     You  will  find  a 
description  of  a  course  of  drills  in  orthography,  orthoepy  and 
orthographic  parsing  in  my  Normal  Methods  of  Teaching — 
pages  92-96. 

6.  Penmanship.    This  exercise  ought  always  to  be  gen- 
eral and  the  teacher  ought  always  to  give  it  his  entire  atten- 
tion, while  it  is  in  progress.     It  is  the  only  class  exercise  in 
school  in  which  prizes  can  be  given  without  decided  injury  to 
some  pupils.     In  this,  however,  prizes  can  be  offered  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  stimulate  the  most  backward,  instead  of  the 
most  advanced  pupils ;  and  the  prize  system  may  continue 
from  term  to  term  in  writing,  with  increased  advantage,  if 
properly  managed.     The  objection  to  placing  this  exercise  at 
the  beginning  of  school  in  the   afternoon,  that  it  is  imme 
diately  after  severe  exertion  in  play,  and  the  muscles  of  the 
arm  and  hand  are  unsteady,  is  more  than   counterbalanced 
by  the  advantages  of  placing  it  there. 

7.  Vocal  Music.     We  give   opportunity  here  to   all   our 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  81 

pupil  teachers,  not  naturally  disqualified,  to  prepare  them- 
selves to  teach  vocal  music  by  such  a  method  that  the  young- 
est pupils  as  well  as  the  oldest  in  almost  any  public  school, 
can  learn  to  read  simple  music,  from  notes,  at  sight,  in  the 
course  of  a  school  term,  by  daily  lessons  of  ten  minutes  each 
There  is  every  reason  why  vocal  music  should  be  considered 
one  of  the  common  branches,  and  taught  as  such. 

General  Remarks  on  the  First  Artifice. 

These  are  some  of  the  exercises,  which  being  sustained 
with  energy  and  skill  by  the  teacher,  will  draw  each  for  a 
time.  Some  teachers  will  succeed  better  with  some  of  these, 
and  some  with  others.  No  teacher  would  find  it  profitable 
to  continue  any  one  of  these  exercises  indefinitely,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  the  others.  But  there  will  be  necessity  and 
advantage  in  changing  the  programme  for  commencing,  ex- 
ercises, both  forenoon  and  afternoon,  whenever  the  exercise 
is  found  to  have  lost  its  effect  in  securing  prompt  and  cheer- 
ful attendance.  Perhaps  no  general  exercise  except  pen- 
manship ought  to  continue  more  than  ten  minutes  at  a  time; 
and  in  the  morning  the  teacher  would  do  well  to  place  it  in 
his  own  time,  before  roll-calling,  rather  than  in  the  time  that 
he  is  paid  for,  by  contract  with  directors. 

Artifice   2. 

I  have  sometimes  requested  pupils  to  answer  at  roll-call- 
ing, by  giving  the  number  of  minutes  tardy,  both  for  morn- 
ing and  afternoon,  the  roll  being  called  in  the  evening  for 
this  purpose,  also  for  taking  grades  in  decorum,  during  the 
day  as  I  shall  explain  hereafter.  The  number  of  minutes  is 
determined  by  the  pupils  from  the  school  clock,  or  from  a 
watch  hung  near  the  door,  for  this  purpose. 

Artifice    3. 

In  a  graded  school  of  several  rooms  I  have  known  a 
picture  to  be  hung  for  a  week  in  that  room,  which  had  re- 
ported the  fewest  cases  of  tardiness  for  the  previous  week. 
There  is  danger  that  this  plan  may  increase  the  evil  in  some 
of  the  departments,  which,  from  having  a  few  careless  pupiJa 
in  them,  find  it  impossible  to  win  the  prize. 
6 


82  LECTURE  VII. 

Artifice  4. 

I  have  known  some  very  successful  teachers  to  require 
tardy  pupils  to  write  their  names  on  a  slate  hanging  near  the 
door,  with  the  number  of  minutes  tardy  annexed,  or  in  case 
lhat  the  pupil  was  unable  or  unwilling  to  write,  a  monitor 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  and  always  one  who  had  not  been 
tardy  for  a  given  length  of  time, made  the  requisite  entry  on 
the  slate. 

Artifice  5. 

The  daily  reports  of  tardiness  and  half-days'  absence  are 
read  every  Friday  night  before  the  school. 

Artifice  6. 

Weekly  reports  of  tardiness,  and  half  days'  absence,  with 
grades  of  studies  and  decorum  may  be  sent  to  parents  on 
printed  cards  every  Monday. 

Artifice   7. 

The  unvarying  and  earnest  desire  to  please  and  benefit 
every  pupil,  and  a  determined  effort  to  accomplish  this,  at 
whatever  expense  of  labor  or  self-sacrifice,  will  be  worth 
more  without  any  of  the  other  artifices,  than  all  together 
without  this  essential  one. 

DIFFICULTY  IX.     INDIFFERENCE  OF  PARENTS. 

The  utter  indifference  of  parents  as  to  the  educational 
interests  of  their  children  would  be  astonishing  if  it  were  not 
so  universal.  It  is  true,  some  noble  exceptions  are  found,  but 
the  great  majority  even  of  intelligent,  respectable  parents 
seem  to  be  so  profoundly  absorbed  in  making  money,  or  in 
other  necessary  family  cares,  that  the  true  ends  of  life  are 
entirely  lost  sight  of  in  raising  their  children. 

See  that  mother.  She  can  go  out  to  the  nest  two  or  three 
times  a  day  for  several  days  to  see  whether  any  of  the  gos- 
lings have  made  their  appearance;  and  when  they  are  hatched 
she  can  find  time  to  feed  them  frequently,  watch  them  care- 
fully, and  nurse  them  tenderly.  Why?  Because  there  is 
money  in  them. 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  83 

But  what  does  the  same  mother  know  about  her  children's 
operations  in  school  ? 

They  go  to  school,  term  after  term,  and  she  does  not  know 
whether  they  are  learning  to  love  knowledge  and  virtue,  or 
hate  them;  whether  by  school  influence  their  personal  habits 
are  improving  or  deteriorating ;  whether  their  teacher  is 
inspiring  them  with  a  love  of  industry  and  probity,  or  train- 
ing them  by  bad  management  to  a  hatred  of  labor  and  honest 
exertion.  How  can  she  know?  She  never  visits  the  school, 
nor  invites  the  teacher  to  her  house,  nor  converses  with  her 
children  about  school  matters,  unless  it  is  to  listen  to  their 
complaints  of  the  teacher,  and  their  accounts  of  their  own 
mischief  and  wickedness  at  the  teacher's  expense. 

The  father  is  greatly  interested  in  his  new  breed  of  pigs, 
and  never  wearies  in  descanting  on  their  superiority  in 
making  the  most  pork  from  the  least  corn.  He  can  spend  any 
amount  of  time  in  leaning  over  tne  scy ;  and  seems  to  enjoy 
the  crunching  of  the  corn  almost  as  much  as  the  pigs  do.  If 
any  pig  loses  his  appetite,  he  knows  it,  or  if  any  pig  is  missing 
at  feeding  time,  he  knows  it,  and  hunts  him  up.  He  doesn't 
trust  the  care  of  his  pigs  to  any  hired  man. 

But  his  children  may  go  to  school  or  not  go ;  they  may  be 
improving  their  time  or  wasting  it.  It  seldom  enters  his 
head,  that  it  is  any  concern  of  his  to  know  whether  the* 
teacher  is  a  faithful  workman  or  a  shirk;  he  is  too  much 
absorbed  in  his  pigs  and  colts,  corn  fields  and  wheat  crops, 
high  prices  and  low  taxes. 

But  worse  than  this,  you  have  not  only  seen  this  kind  of 
parents,  if  there  were  any  in  the  district  where  you  taught, 
and  not  improbably  the  majority  were  of  this  kind,  take  no 
interest  in  you  or  your  work  as  a  teacher,  giving  no  encour- 
agement to  your  protracted  efforts  to  help  their  children  to 
overcome  their  lazy,  vicious  habits,  to  stimulate  them  to 
earnest  activity  in  their  school  work ;  but  they  are  the  first  to 
make  a  fuss  if  in  your  anxiety  to  save  and  bless  their  children 
you  have  incurred  their  displeasure.  They  will  then  take  an 
active  part  against  you,  and  try  to  injure  you,  always  assum- 
ing that  their  children  were  right,  ready  to  believe  every 
story  they  tell  about  you,  however  ridiculous  or  absurd; 


84  LECTURE   VII. 

when  they  know  that  these  same  children  are  caught  in  lies 
at  home  almost  every  day. 

School  directors,  too,  are  frequently  very  little  inclined  to 
give  you  any  aid  or  encouragement  in  such  cases.  They  are 
more  likely  to  be  the  men  who  make  a  fuss  on  behalf  of  their 
children,  laying  all  the  blame  on  you,  rather  than  giving  you 
their  sympathy  and  co-operation  in  trying  to  correct  the  bad 
habits  of  their  children. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  far  too  prevalent,  teaching  is  not 
unfrequently,  a  thankless  business;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
so  many  are  willing  to  leave  it  for  almost  any  other  pursuit. 

But  let  me  here  tell  you  again,  as  I  have  several  times 
before,  that  this  difficulty  with  all  the  rest  in  our  profession 
should  not  dishearten  the  true  Christian  teacher,  nor  turn  him 
from  his  work;  but  rather  excite  him  to  greater  patience, 
keener  ingenuity,  higher  efforts,  nobler  self-control,  loftier 
daring,  firmer  trust,  and  a  purer  consecration  to  his  work. 


DIFFICULTY    X.      WANT    OF   UNIFORMITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY  OF 

BOOKS. 

It  is  indispensable  to  a  well-managed  school,  that  every 
pupil  have  his  own  book?,  as  it  is  impossible  to  carry  out  any 
regular  programme  for  study  hours,  if  brothers  and  sisters,  or 
others,  are  compelled  to  use  each  other's  books.  And  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  communication,  if  two  pupils  study  to- 
gether from  the  same  book.  Still  many  parents  are  very 
reluctant  to  furnish  the  requisite  books,  thinking  that  one 
geography  and  atlas,  sadly  dilapidated,  as  they  are,  will 
.answer  for  two  or  three  children ;  as  they  can  either  study 
together  or  use  the  same  books  at  different  hours. 

Then,  in  order  to  secure  any  economical  disposition  of 
time  for  recitations,  and  so  reduce  their  number  that  there 
will  be  time  enough  in  each  to  excite  any  wholesome  interest, 
it  is  neces-sary  that  all  pupils  who  can  possibly  be  classed 
together  have  the  same  kind  of  text-books.  But  parents 
can't  understand  this.  Too  many  think  if  John  has  an  arith- 
metic of  any  kind,  he  can  study  arithmetic,  and  the  teacher 
can  attend  to  him  separately ;  and  so  of  an  old  Murray's  or 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT  85 

Kirkham's  grammar-     And  very  likely  a  director's  daughter_ 
brings  a  new  grammar  or  arithmetic,  which  some  agent  has 
left  with  him  for  examination.     So  uniformity  is  disturbed, 
and  desirable   classification  rendered   difficult  if  not  impos- 
sible. 

What  is  the  teacher  to  do  under  such  circumstances?  I 
can  tell  you  what  has  been  done  by  many  a  teacher.  He 
has  bought  the  necessary  books  with  his  own  money,  and 
lent  them  to  the  pupils,  and  thus  removed  this  obstacle  to 
good  order,  diligence,  and  the  necessary  condensation  of 
classes.  He  can  thus  by  a  comparatively  small  outlay  secure 
double  or  triple  the  time  for  the  more  important  recitations, 
and  a  higher  interest  from  having  larger  classes.  He  also 
makes  it  practicable  to  arrange  his  programme  for  study 
hours,  for  each  class  in  each  branch  as  well  as  for  recitations. 
It  may  be  true  that  the  directors  have  the  power  by  law  to 
prescribe  the  kind  of  text-books,  and  to  require  that  the 
pupils  are  supplied  with  them,  but  very  few  use  this  legal 
power.  More  are  backward  in  supplying  their  own  children. 

In  lending  books  to  pupils,  I  have  almost  always  been 
paid  for  them.  The  only  fathers  who  stand  out,  and  refuse  to 
pay,  are  those  who  spend  dimes  enough  daily  for  whisky  or 
cigars  to  buy  one  or  more  books,  growling  when  a  book  is 
called  for,  "There  it  is  again,  every  new  teacher  must  have 
a  lot  of  new  books  bought.  The  old  ones  are  good  enough. 
I'm  not  a  going  to  submit  to  it  any  longer.  They  can't  spec- 
ulate anymore  out  of  me,  not  easy!"  Whether  the  books 
are  paid  for  or  not,  I  am  compensated  in  having  a  more  inter- 
esting and  successful  school,  and  in  the  feeling  of  the  pupils, 
that  I  am  willing  to  do  a  little  more  for  them,  than  to  keep 
them  in  the  school-house  hours  enough  in  a  day,  and  days 
enough  in  the  term  to  get  my  wages. 

Such  outlays,  judiciously  made  by  the  faithful,  earnest 
teacher,  often  pay  a  hundred  fold. 

DIFFICULTY  XL     WANT  OF  SUFFICIENT  DESKS  AND  SEATS,  RECITA- 
TION BENCHES  AND  BLACKBOARDS. 

Since  you  are  a  good  teacher  and  are  receiving  extra 
wages,  the  school  will  be  fuller  than  ever  before,  and  the 


86  LECTURE    VII. 

crowded  seats  will  militate  against  good  order.  This  difficulty 
can  be  removed  by  the  directors,  who  have  the  power  to  le\7y 
a  tax  for  necessary  repairs  and  supplies,  without  a  vote  of  the 
district.  Provision  should  be  made  with  the  directors  foi 
this  difficulty  before  engaging  with  them. 

In  contracting,  they  will  tell  you,  "We  have  a  small 
school,  only  about  twenty  or  thirty  scholars."  But  you  will 
inquire  for  the  number  enumerated;  and  if  you  find  it  eighty 
or  a  hundred,  you  will  make  your  calculation  for  fifty  or 
sixty.  And  if  they  don't  attend  afterward,  conclude  it  is  your 
own  fault,  and  the  difficulty  is  in  your  want  of  energy  or  power 
to  draw.  Thus  you  will  find  stimulus  for  your  highest  ex- 
ertions. 

DIFFICULTY  XII.     WANT  OF  PROPERLY  PREPARED  FUEL. 

Every  teacher, almost,  has  felt  this  difficulty  as  a  sore  an- 
noyance. Sometimes  it  is  the  want  of  fuel  of  any  kind. 
Sometimes  the  wood  is  not  chopped,  and  it  is  expected  that 
the  larger  boys  will  chop  it,  or  that  the  teacher  will  do  it 
himself.  Sometimes  the  wood  is  sap-rotten  and  water-soaked, 
a  load  that  the  director  could  neither  use  nor  sell,  so  he  charged 
the  district  full  price  for  it,  and  hauled  it  to  the  school-house. 

Having  shivered  with  my  pupils  for  a  day  and  more,  ex- 
pecting a  load  of  wood  every  hour,  I  dismissed  the  school  at 
evening,  and  went  the  third  time  to  see  the  director  about 
the  wood  previously  promised.  He  charged  the  delay  upon 
another  director,  who  had  promised  he  would  send  a  load  to 
the  school-house  three  days  before ;  but  said  he  would  send  a 
load  himself,  the  next  morning  before  school  time.  Sure 
enough,  I  found  the  wood,  a  jag  of  swamp-ash  saplings.  I 
tried  an  hour  to  get  a  fire  started,  but  in  vain.  Still  shiver- 
ing with  the  children,  I  sent  a  note  to  the  director,  request- 
ing him  to  send  me  a  basket  of  icicles  otf  his  wood  shed,  for 
kindlings,  as  I  could  not  get  the  swamp-ash  to  burn.  He 
came  over,  somewhat  angry,  and  somewhat  amused,  with  some 
fragments  of  old  rails,  with  the  help  of  which  we  managed  to 
shiveron  until  the  other  director  fulfilled  his  promises.  After 
threatening  to  leave  the  school,  I  secured  fuel  enough  ready 
chopped  and  split  to  last  through  the  term. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  87 

The  remedy  for  this  evil,  want  of  properly  prepared  fuel, 
is  in  your  contract.  Make  the  written  agreement  that,  if  the 
school  stops  for  want  of  fuel  or  any  other  cause  for  which 
you  are  not  responsible,  that  your  wages  shall  be  fully  paid; 
but  if  the  school  is  suspended  from  any  failure  or  disability 
on  your  part,  you  will  not  expect  pay  for  lost  time. 


DIFFICULTY  XIII.     HARD  CASES. 

It  is  sometimes  said,  "There  is  aplenty  of  fine-spun  the- 
ories about  governing  schools,  but  none  of  them  tell  us  how 
to  manage  the  hard  cases;  these  theories  do  well  enough  for 
plain  sailing,  but  they  fail  us  just  when  we  need  help,  in 
rough  weather,  or  when  driving  toward  the  breakers."  So, 
"  theory  and  practice  "  are  scouted  as  of  "  no  account,  any  how.'5 

With  regard  to  this  difficulty,  "Hard  Cases,"  my  first  re- 
mark is  that  he  or  she  whose  theory  and  practice  are  normal^ 
and  right,  seldom  has  any  hard  cases  to  deal  with,  and  even 
then  they  are  so  speedily  softened,  that  the  fact  of  hardness 
is  hardly  recognized  or  remembered.  Such  a  pupil  as  had 
borne  the  reputation  of  being  the  "  worst  boy  in  school,"  is 
rather  known  as  among  the  most  diligent  and  loyal.  Why  ? 
and  how  ?  I  answer,  (1,)  because  his  antagonism  is  not  excited 
by  suspicious  measures  of  unusual  rigor  toward  him,  partic- 
ularly;  (2,)  because  the  teacher  perceiving  or  discovering  the 
particular  bent  or  idiosyncrasy  of  the  boy,  or  young  man, 
furnishes  him  something  to  do  that  will  occupy  his  time  and 
engage  his  attention,  in  some  useful  direction,  and  the  pupil 
begins  to  feel,  as  he  never  felt  before,  that  the  school  is  going 
to  be  of  some  real  advantage;  and  having  his  interest  aroused, 
and  his  mind  fully  occupied,  he  forgets  his  old  school  tricks 
and  former  bad  habits,  and  becomes  one  of  the  most  diligent 
students. 

I  have  found  book-keeping  an  excellent  study  to  win  over 
such  hard  cases.  The  idea  of  making  some  definite  and  val- 
uable use  of  school  acquisition  is  a  new  one,  to  this  pupil,  and 
is  generally  adequate  to  dispel  the  old  one,  of  considering 
the  school  only  a  place  for  resisting  law,  and  the  practice  of 
mischief  and  rowdyism.  So,  I  repeat  it,  the  teacher  who 


88  LECTUItE    VII. 

adopts  this  plain  normal  principle,  of  school  management 
viz,  /  must  furnish  every  pupil  something  to  do  that  will  he 
useful  and  interesting,  or  he  will  furnish  me  something  to  do 
that  will  he  vexatious  and  exhausting;  and  carries  it  out  with 
any  degree  of  faithfulness  and  tact,  will  have  no  hard  cases, 
or,  if  he  has,  the  popular  current  of  the  school  will  be  tco 
strong  for  them  to  resist,  and  as  they  perhaps  took  the  lead  in- 
fun  and  misrule  before,  they  will  strive  as  hard  to  shine  in  lead- 
ing  the  classes  and  promoting  the  general  interests  of  the 
school. 

But  you  say,  "Suppose  a  boy  or  young  man  still  holds 
out  and  I  am  unable  to  reach  him;  he  still  continues  trouble- 
some and  rebellious,  in  spite  of  every  thing  I  can  do,  then 
what  ?" 

My  answer  is,  You  must  acknowledge  to  yourself  that  some 
teacher  can  be  found  who  can  manage  even  this  hard  case, 
that  proves  so  refractory  with  you.  In  other  words,  if  you 
had  more  skill  and  patience,  you  could  manage  him  yourself 
Then  I  say  study  the  case  once  more,  before  you  own  up 
beaten.  Tax  your  own  resources  of  ingenuity  in  expedients 
and  artifices,  once  again,  before  you  are  willing  to  acknowl- 
edge yourself  utterly  vanquished  in  this  contest:  you,  fight- 
ing for  the  boy  and  his  best  interests;  he,  fighting  against 
himself  and  for  his  own  destruction.  Can't  you  make  him 
see  it? 

Try  again,  find  some  other  expedient,  convince  him,  if 
possible,  that  you  only  design  to  do  him  good,  and  he  alone 
prevents  it. 

But  at  last,  one  or  the  other  must  triumph,  you  for  his 
salvation  and  your  own  higher  success  in  all  your  plans  lot 
the  good  of  the  school ;  or  he  for  his  own  ruin,  your  discom- 
fiture and  the  demoralization  of  the  school.  Unless  you  vol- 
untarily resign,  as  incompetent  for  the  position,  and  leave 
the  field  free  for  another  to  win  where  you  lost  the  battle,  it 
becomes  a  matter  for  the  directors  to  decide,  whether  you  or 
he  ou^ht  to  leave  the  school.  It  may  even  be  necessary  to 
suspend  the  pupil  till  a  meeting  of  the  directors  can  be  called 

Now,  in  resorting  to  the  directors  for  "  aid  and  comfort," 
the  teacher  must  be  on  his  guard  against  two  extremes. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  39 

1.  He  or  she  must  not  threaten  in  every  slight  difficulty 
Til  call  in  the  directors  if  you  don't  behave  better." 

2.  He  or  she,  the  teacher,  should  not  defer  the  matter  too 
long,  or  until  he  or  she  has  lost  all  respect  of  the  pupils,  and 
the  work  of  disorganization  has  proceeded  too  far  to  admit  of 
recovery  after  the  principal  cause  has  been  removed. 

The  directors  should  never  be  called  into  a  school.  If 
they  are  called  once,  it  will  soon  be  necessary  to  call  them 
again,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  they  will  be  needed  all 
tho  time.  A  special  meeting  should  be  called  for  the  hearing 
of  such  a  case,  both  parties  being  present  to  make  their 
statements.  If  the  contumaciously  incorrigible,  or  his  parent 
fails  to  appear,  you  will  state  the  case  with  such  witnesses  as 
you  think  best  to  call. 

If  the  directors  then  decide  to  retain  the  unmanageable 
pupil  in  school,  by  all  means  you  ought  to  resign.  You  can 
not  do  a  worse  thing  than  to  continue  a  fight  after  being  so 
thoroughly  worsted,  routed,  and  all  your  subsidies  gone  over 
to  the  enemy. 

You  may  profit  by  your  experience,  in  another  field,  but. 
your  usefulness  here  is  at  an  end. 


DIFFICULTY  XIV.     Low  WAGES. 

I  look  upon  this  difficulty  somewhat  differently  from  most 
of  you,  perhaps.  You  think  it  a  necessity  that  you  would 
avoid  if  you  could.  I  think  it  a  misfortune  that  comes  from 
want  of  sufficient  energy,  foresight  and  tact.  "Perhaps  so," 
you  say,  "but  how  can  I  relieve  myself  of  it?" 

I  will  first  try  to  show  you  how  the  difficulty  works. 

You  have  attended  a  normal  school,  and  spent  all  your 
means  in  qualifying  yourself  well  for  your  work.  You  are 
anxious  now  to  get  a  situation,  and  you  hardly  dare  ask  liv- 
ing wages,  fearing  that  you'll  not  succeed  immediately  in 
getting  one. 

The  directors  discover  your  necessities,  and  jew  you  down 
till  you  engage  to  teach  for  half  wages,  less  than  any  ordinary 
mechanic  is  receiving,  say  thirty  dollars  per  month.  Now, 
what  is  the  consequence  ?  Why,  those  very  directors,  who  by 


90  LECTURE   VII. 

taking  advantage  of  your  necessities,  jewed  you  out  of  hall 
your  wages,  are  boasting  around  the  district  that  they  have 
hired  a  cheap  teacher,  and  you  will  have  to  enter  that  school 
under  the  disability  of  poverty  and  dependence — two  unpar- 
donable sins  in  these  times.  Yes,  you  are  a  poor,  cheap 
teacher,  and  all  the  children  have  heard  of  it,  especially  the 
directors'  children. 

The  best  scholars  in  the  district  will  not  patronize  such  a 
teacher;  they  prefer  to  go  away  to  school.  The  worst  are 
sure  to  be  on  hand;  they  expect  to  have  a  good  time  at  your 
expense.  How  are  you  going  to  rise  above  all  this ;  make  a 
good  school  out  of  the  worst  of  materials?  How  can  you 
convince  the  children  that  you  are  worthy  of  obedience,  and 
their  parents  that  you  have  any  just  claims  on  their  sympa- 
thy and  co-operation?  you  poor,  cheap  teacher!  You  will 
find  it  somewhat  difficult,  I  imagine,  whatever  may  be  your 
qualifications.  Ye?,  low  wages  is  indeed  a  sad  difficulty,  and 
hard  to  overcome. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  advantages  of  good  wages  for  a 
moment. 

You  meet  an  honorable  board  of  directors  anxious  to  have 
a  good  school,  whatever  may  be  the  cost.  You  present  your 
views  of  teaching  and  school  management^  and  succeed  in 
enlisting  their  attention  and  interest,  in  the  plans  and  meth- 
ods you  propose  to  pursue.  They  feel  that  money  will  be 
well  expended  in  hiring  you  at  an  extra  price;  in  fact,  they 
can  not  afford  to  let  you  go.  They  agree  to  pay  you  much 
higher  wages  than  the  district  has  ever  paid  before.  Now 
what  is  the  consequence  ?  These  directors,  in  order  to  sustain 
themselves  with  their  constituents  for  paying  such  an  extra- 
ordinary price,  three  or  four  dollars  a  day,  when  the  district 
had  never  paid  more  than  two  dollars  before;  instead  oi 
bragging  of  their  own  sharpness,  at  your  expense,  avail  them- 
selves of  every  opportunity  to  speak  well  of  your  qualifica- 
tions, and  to  set  forth  your  normal  views  and  methods  in 
their  true  light,  before  the  people  of  the  district. 

Being  thus  committed,  they  are  prepared  to  stand  by  you, 
and  assist  you  in  carrying  out  your  plans,  as  well  to  justify 
their  course,  as  because  they  are  really  interested  in  the  de- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  91 

velopment   of    your   plans,    and   in   the   increasing   success 
which  attends  them. 

You  are  thus  introduced  under  the  most  favorable  auspices7 
and  sustained  and  encouraged  by  the  hearty  co-operation  of 
your  patrons.  The  more  advanced  pupils  of  the  district  and 
ourrounding  districts  will  attend  your  school,  instead  of 
going  abroad  to  boarding-schools.  The  good  students  are 
now  all  on  hand,  and  are  in  ascendency;  the  bad  boys  and 
frivolous  girls  say  with  the  rest,  "We  are  going  to  have  a  good 
school,  and  I  am  going  to  learn  something  this  time." 

I  say  then,  teachers,  "  covet  the  best  gifts,"  claim  the 
highest  wages — only  first  thoroughly  qualify  yourselves  that 
your  claim  shall  prove  to  be  a  just  one — and  then,  secondly, 
and  always,  don't  work  for  high  wages — but  for  infinitely 
higher  ends.  But  working  for  such  ends  is  the  remedy  for 
low  wages. 


LECTURE   ON  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT 


LECTURE    VIII. 
SELF-DIFFICULTIES. 

IN  the  two  previous  lectures,  I  treated  of  some  of  the 
leading  difficulties  in  the  school-room,  numerous  and  formi- 
dable enough,  it  would  seem,  to  intimidate  any  one  who 
should  fully  realize  their  extent  and  power;  but  in  this  lec- 
ture I  design  to  bring  to  view  another  class  of  difficulties  in 
many  cases  still  more  subtile  and  unmanageable,  than  any  that 
can  exist  in  the  school-room;  they  are  such,  teachers,  as  are 
a  part  of  one's  self,  one's  own  bad  habits,  weaknesses,  and 
disabilities.  The  former  difficulties  may  be  overcome  or  pro- 
vided for  by  sufficient  energy,  foresight  and  ingenuity;  but 
who  is  fully  his  own  master  ?  uHe  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit 
is  mightier  than  he  that  taketh  a  city,"  or  governs  a  school 
by  positive  enactment,  and  rigid  enforcement.  The  teach sr 
who  is  thoroughly  master  of  himself  and  possesses  the  requi- 
site qualifications  otherwise,  has  a  school  that  will  call  for 
very  little  positive  government,  at  least  such  as  manifests 
itself. 

SELF-DIFFICULTY  I.    BAD  GRAMMAR. 

Let  me  first  notice,  my  young  friends,  your  use  of  the 

English  language.     You  will  frequently  find  yourself  making 

mistakes  in   the  use  of  your  vernacular.      These  erroneous 

forms  of  expression  were  taken  in  with  your  infantile  breath, 

92 


LECTURE   VIII.  93. 

as  it  were;  at  the  fireside,  or  on  the  play-ground,  aid  possibly- 
some  of  these  uncouth  localisms,  or  barbarisms,  cling  so» 
closely  that  you  are  entirely  unconscious  of  them,  and  probr 
ably  no  friend  has  had  the  kindness,  or  the  hardihood  to 
advise  you  of  them. 

I  know  a  young  man,  here,  who  will  persist  in  his  home 
habit  of  introducing  the  preposition,  for,  before  every  infinir 
tive,  as  "I  wish /or  you  all  to  come  early."  "He  said  -for  us 
not  to  mind  it."  As  offensive  as  this  is,  to  most  of  you,  he  is 
frequently  inclined  to  boast  of  his  knowledge  ©f  grammar, 
and  is  obviously  unconscious  of  this  and  other  similar  devia- 
tions from  correct  language.  Probably  if  you  were  to  tell 
him  of  the  error,  he  would  reply,  "Certainly,  I  would  like 
for  you  to  correct  me,  when  I'm  wrong ;  but  you  must  make- 
for  me  to  see  that  I'm  wrong,  first." 

But,  suppose  you  try  to  correct  your  own  home-bred  errors,, 
and  you  frequently  catch  yourself  uttering  impure  collo- 
quialisms— not  to  say,  vulgarisms  or  slang  phrases — the  diffi- 
culty is  then  not  so  much  in  the  fault  itself,  as  in  the  atten- 
tion you  attract  in  endeavoring  to  overcome  it;  especially, 
as  you  will  almost  surely  make  the  matter  worse  by  over 
doing  it. 

For  example,  I  have  heard  some  pupil  teachers  here  in- 
this  effort  at  self-correction  use  the  forms  "I  do  not,"  "He  is 
not,"  instead  of  the  proper  colloquial  forms,  "I  don't,"  "He 
isn't;"  also  "I  arn't"  for  "I'm  not." 

Now  I  beg,  that  you  don't  do  such  foolish  things;  rather 
let  your  expressions  be  easy,  and  free,  even  though  the  home- 
bred uncouthness  does  show  itself  now  and  then.  It  will  not 
be  as  likely  to  excite  ridicule  as  your  over-much  nicety  in 
grammar.  It  is  generally  and  correctly  assumed  that  a  man 
who  is  ostentatious  of  his  grammar,  has  little  else  to  boast  of. 
Pedantry  and  ignorance  are  never  far  apart. 

When  you  go  into  society,  don't  make  every  one  you  come 
in  contact  with  uncomfortable  from  your  extreme  effort  to  be 
remarkably  accurate  in  your  syntax  and  etymology:  more 
than  likely  some  fast  boy  or  girl  will  be  ready  to  take  you  off 
the  moment  you  are  out  of  hearing. 


94  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

i  orice  visited  a  family  where  a  teacher  of  this  stamp  had 
formerly  boarded.  The  good  hostess  evidently  entertained 
the  idea  that  all  teachers  were  exacting  in  their  grammar. 
She  was  painfully  precise  in  her  language.  For  instance, 
"Mary,  sit  the  chairs  up  to  the  table,  and  we  will  set  down  to 
tea."  If  the  teacher  had  not  been  there  she  would  probably 
have  spoken  correctly. 

Now,  teachers,  don't  make  yourselves  and  your  profession 
so  oppressive.  Let  those  around  you  feel  that  you  recognize 
them  as  fellow-beings,  even  though  you  do  think  you  under- 
stand grammar  so  much  better  than  they. 

It  may  work  well  in  your  school,  however,  to  call  for 
reports  from  the  members  of  your  grammar  class  of  any 
instances  of  supposed  bad  grammar  coming  under  their  notice. 
These  reports  should  be  called  for  at  the  commencement  of 
the  grammar  recitation,  and  the  criticisms  should  extend  to 
the  teacher  as  well  as  to  fellow  pupils.  A  mutual  interest 
excited  in  this  way,  and  sustained  in  the  spirit  of  kindness 
and  humor,  will  do  more  in  one  school  term  to  help  teachers 
and  pupils  in  practical  grammar,  and  in  appropriate  use  of 
.language  than  memorizing  all  the  definitions,  rules,  notes, 
remarks,  observations  and  exceptions  in  the  bulkiest  of  gram- 
mars, or  in  Brown's  Grammar  of  Grammars. 

When  judiciously  managed   such   an   exercise  will    soon 
create  in   those  engaged  in  it  a  kind  of  grammatical   con 
science,  which  will  hold  its  sway  with  increasing  integrity, 
.and  yet  with  more  ease  and  grace  all  through  life. 


SELF-DIFFICULTY  II.    USE  OF  TOBACCO. 

This  difficulty,  I  hope  very  few  of  you  have  to  contend 
with.  Still  for  the  sake  of  these  unfortunates,  although  I 
confess  I  have  very  little  hope  of  benefiting  them,  I  will 
dwell  for  a  moment.  I  hardly  know  where  to  begin,  so  I'll 
give  you  little  of  my  own  experience.  When  about  fourteen 
years  old,  I  noticed  that  many  of  the  most  taking  young  fel- 
lows smoked.  It  looked  smart,  and  so  I  thought  I  must 
smoke.  The  first  time  1  tried  it,  a  few  drafts  were  enough  to 


LECTURE   VIII.  0 

make  me  "  awful "  sick ;  but  I  was  determined  to  be  a  man  if 
it  did  make  me  sick,  and  I  worked  at  it  till  I  conceived  I 
could  handle  a  cigar  with  as  much  grace  as  the  smartest  of 
them.  Not  yet  having  acquired  any  particular  love  for  the 
weed,  I  chanced  one  day  to  enter  a  grocery  where  three  of 
the  most  brutal,  vulgar  bullies  of  the  town  were  smoking 
with  particular  gusto,  each  with  his  emptied  beer  glass  stand- 
ing near  him.  I  pulled  my  cigar  from  my  mouth,  and  whirled 
it  out  the  door,  mentally  resolving  that  I  would  never 
smoke  again  or  do  anything  else  in  which  such  wretches  as 
they  could  beat  me ;  and  I  have  lived  up  to  my  resolution,  at 
least,  so  far  as  smoking  is  concerned. 

But  some  of  you  say,  "I  was  advised  by  a  physician  to 
smoke  to  cure  the  toothache."  Yes,  and  I  suppose  you  are 
curing  the  toothache  yet.  I  would  prefer  some  more  effect- 
tive  remedy.  You  remind  me  of  the  Irish  doctor's  bill  for 
services  rendered,  "To  curing  your  wife  till  she  died,  $50." 

A  young  man  here  last  summer  said  his  physician  had 
prescribed  smoking  a  pipe  to  help  his  dyspepsia,  so  he  is  still 
smoking  for  the  dyspepsia,  when  he  is  able  to  eat  any  thing. 
Why,  I  would  as  soon  think  of  polishing  my  eye-balls  with 
shoe  blacking  to  improve  my  impaired  vision,  as  to  use  the 
poison  of  tobacco  to  strengthen  impaired  digestion.  "But  a 
poor  excuse  is  better  than  none,"  you  know. 

If  any  one  of  these  unfortunates,  present,  can  adduce  one 
positive  advantage  from  smoking  or  chewing,  I  would  advise 
him  to  write  it  down  and  give  it  a  whole  column.  But 
against  that  column  let  him  fill  another  with  the  evils  con- 
nected with  the  use  of  tobacco,  and  with  the  sin  and  moral 
degradation  resulting  from  his  slavery  to  so  vile  a  habit. 

The  list,  honestly  made,  will  be  appalling.  The  idea  of 
being  a  slave  to  any  habit,  it  seems  to  me,  is  demoralizing  to 
all  integrity,  and  a  teacher,  of  all  men,  ought  to  be  his  own 
master,  and  in  the  highest  sense  a  noble,  pure  and  Christian 
freeman. 

Some  twenty  years  since  I  was  conducting  an  Institute. 
Two  leading  teachers  of  the  State  were  assisting.  One  the 
noble  and  lamented  Andrews,  the  other  a  Mr.  Nameless, 


96 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


though  not  to  know  him  is  to  be  yourself  unknown.  The  wife 
of  a  physician,  from  the  city  in  which  Mr.  Nameless  was  Su- 
perintendent of  Schools,  was  dining  with  us.  As  soon  as  our 
meal  was  dispatched,  Mr.  Nameless  drawing  back  from  the 
table.  Mr.  Andrews  says,  "  Well,  Sam,  I  suppose  that  cigar  has 
to  be  attended  to  now."  "  Oh  yes,  every  dog  must  have  its 
day  you  know,"  replied  Nameless. 

Said  the  lady  visikr,  "Mr.  Nameless,  do  you  know  what 
Henry  told  me  yesterday?"  "Of  course  not."  "Do  you 
know  that  we  have  been  trying  for  a  year  and  over  to  break 
our  Henry  of  smoking;  and  with  his  frail  constitution  and 
highly  nervous  temperament,  we  feel  that  smoking  is  ruining 
him?"  Said  Mr.  Nameless,  "Oh  smoking  doesn't  hurt  any 
body;  and  if  it  does,  they  ought  not  to  smoke."  "But,"  said 
she,  "  how  could  it  escape  your  notice,  that  Henry  is  making 
himself  almost  an  imbecile  by  the  practice  ?  His  father  and 
I  had  entreated  him  to  give  it  up,  and  he  promised  us  he 
would;  but  yesterday  I  discovered  from  the  odor  of  his 
clothes,  that  he  had  been  smoking  again.  We  charged  him 
wiih  it.  He  did  not  deny  it.  But  what  do  you  suppose  was 
his  argument  this  time?  'Why,  Mr.  Nameless  smokes  all  the 
time,  and  it  doesn't  hurt  him.' "  Now,  teachers,  who  could 
bear  such  a  remonstrance  from  a  mother?  Surely  no  man 
whose  every  moral  sensibility  had  not  been  paralyzed  by  the 
use  of  the  fell  narcotic.  Mr.  Nameless  smokes  yet.  But 
what  has  become  of  Henry? 

SELF-DIFFICULTY  III.    WANT  OF  SELF-CONTROL. 

I  remarked,  to  be  one's  own  master  is  more  necessary  for 
a  true  Christian  teacher,  than  for  any  other  man.  I  shall  pro- 
ceed to  specify  a  few  points  where  the  teacher  especially 
needs  this  self-mastery,  and  where,  if  wanting  it,  he  finds  a 
difficulty  to  which  he  will  sooner  or  later  be  compelled  to 
succumb,  and  thus  abandon  teaching,  or  be  recognized  only 
as  a  failure  and  a  disgrace,  cast  off  from  one  place  after 
anbther,  till  life  itself  shall  become  as  great  a  burden  as  he  is 
a  nuisance  in  the  school-room.  But  the  teacher  who  shall 


'LECTURE   VIII. 


97 


exercise  due  self-control  in  these  particulars  can  not  fail  to 
be  a  growing  teacher,  growing  in  reputation,  position,  and  m 
usefulness. 


Specifications  in  Self-control. 

1st.  Early  Rising.  There  is  no  deservedly  eminent  teacher 
in  these  days  anywhere  to  be  found,  but  finds  it  necessary  to 
study.  Such  are  the  advancing  claims  of  Science,  Literature 
and  Art,  in  all  directions  with  which  every  live  teacher  must 
keep  pace,  aside  from  the  spirit  of  progress  in  his  profession, 
and  being  posted  and  especially  prepared  in  the  matter  and 
method  of  the  branches  he  is  teaching,  that  the  utmost  econ- 
omy of  time  is  demanded,  to  hold  or  win  any  advanced 
position.  Though  some  successful  teachers  of  uncommon 
physical  development  may  differ  with  me  in  practice,  I  am 
prepared  to  say  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction  from 
those  who  have  tried  both  plans,  that  early  rising  and  study 
before  breakfast  is  immensely  more  economical  than  study  at 
night  into  late  hours. 

Morning   study   is   better   than  night   study  for   several 
reasons. 

1.  Night  study  is  performed  when  the  physical  energies 
are  more  or  less  exhausted,  and  the  mind  can  never  do  its 
best,  without  a  full  supply  of  nervous  power.     Hence,  such 
study  is  often  abortive,  always  less  effective,  even  though  it 
may  be  very  laborious. 

2.  Morning  study  is  performed  when  the  physical  energies 
are  the  highest,  and  of  consequence  the  mind  is  the  keenest 
The   difficult  problems   which  baffled   the  student's  best  ef- 
forts the  night  before,  he  has  found  comparatively  easy  after 
a  good  night's  sleep. 

3.  Any  study  to  be  effective  must  be  exciting.     Excite- 
ment  and  fatigue   combined   in   night   study,  render   sleep 
dreamy,   fidgety,    and  unrefreshing,   as  every  night  student 
knows. 

4.  For  want  of  sufficient  and  invigorating  sleep,  the  teacher 
is  unfitted  for  the  duties  of  the  next  day,  for,  however  much 

7 


LECTURE   VIII. 

he  may  have  gained  in  preparation  for  his  recitations,  he  has 
lost  much  more  in  good  humor  and  cheerfulness  and  vivacity. 

It  is  safe  to  say,  then,  that  an  hour  for  study  before  break- 
fast is  worth  two  hours  after  supper  to  the  hard-working 
teacher. 

Study  before  breakfast  is  healthy  excitement.  Study  after 
supper  is  often  exhausting  and  feverish  fatigue. 

Study  before  breakfast  is  both  mental  and  moral  power 
that  flows  over  copiously  and  bountifully  into  the  school- 
room. Study  after  supper  is  the  result  of  moral  weakness, 
and  ends,  sooner  or  later,  in  mental  incapacity. 

Study  before  breakfast  enhances  every  excellence,  enriches 
every  pleasure,  and  dissipates  almost  every  difficulty  of  a 
teacher's  life.  But  it  requires  self-control  to  rise  early.  Such 
as  I  am  afraid  but  few  teachers  can  persistently  practice. 

But  if  it  requires  self-control  to  rise  early,  it  requires  true 
heroism  to  retire  early  enough  and  continuously  enough  to 
make  early  rising  habitually  practicable. 


LECTURE  VIII— SKLF-DIFFICULTY 

Heroism,  did  I  say?  Yes,  heroism,  to  break  off  from  an  in- 
teresting book,  to  withdraw  from  a  lively  circle,  to  excuse 
one's  self  from  a  charming  chat  with  some  fascinating  friend. 
Gentlemen,  Ladies — "One  man  among  a  thousand  have  I 
found,"  says  Solomon,  "  but  a  woman  among  all  these  have  I 
not  found."  By  which,  I  suppose,  Solomon  intends  to  say, 
th  it  it  is  more  difficult  for  a  lady  teacher  to  exercise  self-con- 
trol, under  such  trying  circumstances,  than  for  a  gentleman. 
But  I  confess,  I  have  my  doubts. 

2d.  Compliance  witli  our  own  requirements.  For  exam- 
ple, promptitude.  How  many  teachers  have  self-control 
enough  to  be  at  their  post,  without  one  failure  for  a  term, 
not  generally,  but  always,  without  a  single  failure?  But 
how  can  a  teaclier  expect  to  remove,  or  even  abate,  the  nuia 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  99 

a  nee  of  tardiness,  while  he  himself  is  chargeable  with  the 
same  crime? 

This  unvarying  promptitude  requires  that  energy  in  char- 
acter, and  foresight  in  the  arrangement  of  minor  matters,  that 
control  of  self,  and  mastery  over  circumstances,  which  make 
the  successful  man  in  any  other  business  or  profession. 

Take  another  example :  I  once  felt  it  necessary  to  request 
my  pupils  not  to  whistle  in  the  school  building,  the  school 
rooms  or  halls.  The  request  was  very  generally  complied 
with.  But  while  solving  an  algebraic  problem  during  recess, 
I  was  heard  whistling  continuously  by  all  the  pupils  in  the 
room.  The  unusual  silence  among  the  pupils  attracted  my 
attention,  and  brought  me  to  a  consciousness  of  my  whistling. 
Under  the  circumstances  I  found  it  necessary  to  make  a  full 
confession  of  my  delinquency — and  tried  to  turn  the  accident 
to  good  account,  by  thus  showing  my  own  respect  for  law  and 
order.  But  such  accidents  should  not  happen  too  often. 

3d.  Controlling  one's  temper.  The  true  teacher  is  full  of 
excitement  and  enthusiasm;  and  if  he  is  not  exceedingly 
watchful,  especially  when  tired  or  ill,  his  excitability  becomes 
irascibility.  Thus  his  highest  element  of  success,  for  want 
of  adequate  self-control,  defeats  itself.  I  know  of  no  better 
means  of  controlling  one's  self  under  such  circumstances,  than 
a  persistent  determination  to  return  good  for  evil.  Simple 
will-power  may  do  much,  but  acting  under  the  guidance  of 
the  higher  law,  it  can  seldom  fail. 

A  tired,  overworked,  harassed  teacher  too  often  claims  the 
ass's  ears.  I  will  explain:  *0ne  cold  morning  last  winter,  a 
teacher,  hurrying  to  his  school  room  a  half  an  hour  earlier 
than  usual,  with  his  ears  protected  by  fur  lapels  projecting 
upward,  heard  a  group  of  boys  he  had  just  passed,  vociferat- 
ing, "What  ears!  what  ears!"  Turning  around  to  resent  the 
insult,  by  "pitching  into"  the  boys,  his  anger  was  converted 
into  laughter,  by  noticing  the  flopping  of  a  remarkable  pair 
of  donkey's  ears,  not  far  off  in  the  street.  The  teacher  passed 
on,  resolving,  thereafter,  to  let  the  donkey  always  have  the 
advantage  of  his  own  ears. 

^th.  Controlling  one's  affections  and  preferences.  Self, 
control  is  again  needed  in  managing  one's  affections  andpre- 

•Narrated  by  Captain  Williams. 


100 


LECTURE   VIII 


ferences.  We  naturally  lore  those  who  esteem  us,  and  try  to 
please  us  It  is  well  that  we  are  so  constituted.  We  teachers 
have  hearts,  as  well  as  other  people.  If  a  pupil,  especially 
one  of  the  opposite  sex,  is  more  attractive  than  others,  the 
teacher  would  be  more  or  less  than  human  not  to  be  influ 
enced  accordingly.  But  so  to  control  affection  and  prefer- 
ence under  such  temptation,  as  to  escape  the  charge  of  par- 
tiality, or  greater  weakness,  requires  that  quantity  and  quality 
of  self-control  that  very  few  even  good  teachers  are  found  to 
possess. 

SELF  DIFFICULTY  IV.    WANT  OF  SOCIAL  POWER. 

Teachers,  as  a  class,  have  less  social  power  and  social  in- 
fluence than  any  other  profession.  We  are,  if  at  all  suc- 
cessful in  our  calling,  fully  absorbed  in  its  duties ;  rather, 
entirely  overwhelmed  with  its  cares,  toils,  and  anxieties. 
Why, then,  should  we  try  to  cultivate  the  power  of  making 
ourselves  agreeable  and  popular  with  all  classes  of  men  and 
women?  Why?  Because,  being  recognized  by  our  patrons 
as  worthy,  intelligent,  and  affable,  being  sought  after  and 
courted  in  general  society,  so  much  the  more  respect  is  ac- 
corded by  our  pupils,  and  thus  this  social  power  becomes  a 
potent  element  in  aiding  the  teacher  to  attain  that  ideal 
school  government  described  in  Lecture  III,  as  the  Personal 
Influence  Plan. 

Besides,  the  teacher  whose  studious  habits  seclude  him 
from  society,  almost  necessarily  falls  into  odd  ways  and  no- 
ticeable peculiarities,  which  much  impair,  if  they  do  not  en- 
tirely neutralize,  his  personal  influence  in  the  school  room ; 
making  a  resort  to  the  Force  Method  necessary  to  sustain 
order. 

I  say, then,  that  the  teacher  should  avail  himself  of  every 
practicable  opportunity,  with  his  pupils  and  with  his  patrons, 
to  cultivate  his  social  power.  Now,  as  it  generally  devolves 
on  a  teacher  to  lead  in  conversation,  with  whomsoever  he 
may  meet,  he  must  learn  to  interest  every  individual,  by  draw- 
ing him  or  her  out  on  topics  concerning  which  that  individ- 
ual ought  to  know  more  than  the  teacher.  Social  power  is 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  101 

thus  evolved  and  rendered  more  available  in  directing  con- 
versation and  in  being  an  inquirer,  than  in  being  a  voluble 
talker,  especially  about  one's  own  superior  abilities,  remark- 
able adventures,  and  astonishing  successes.  EGOTISM  is  a  too 
common  fault  with  talking  teachers. 

I  will  add  a  word  or  two  on  Dogmatism  and  Pedantry, 
banes  of  the  teacher's  social  influence.  The  control  of  child- 
ren and  youth,  and  their  necessary  subordination  to  school 
authority  vested  in  the  teacher,  will  sooner  or  later  give  the 
teacher  who  does  not  mingle  in  society  the  air,  at  least,  of 
overweening  confidence  in  his  own  opinions,  and  disagree  ible 
restiveness  and  petulance,  whenever  his  views  or  statements 
are  questioned  or  contradicted.  This  tendency  to  dogmatism 
should  be  most  carefully  guarded  against.  The  practice  of 
free  discussion  between  pupils  and  teacher  in  recitations, 
within  the  proper  bounds  of  mutual  respect,  inciting  as  it 
does  to  breadth  and  liberality  of  opinion,  will  best  counter- 
act this  tendency.  As  common  as  PEDANTRY  is  with  the  most 
assuming  and  pretentious  of  our  profession,  I  have  not  yet 
learned  to  treat  it,  or  its  possessor,  with  much  patience  or 
respect.  The  pedant  knows  a  little  grammar,  that  is,  he 
thinks  he  knows  some  one  grammar  by  heart;  he  knows  a 
little  arithmetic,  that  is,  he  thinks  he  can  do  all  the  sums  in 
some  one  arithmetic,  and  explain  them,  etc.;  and  you  will  see 
these  littles  projecting  themselves  in  all  directions,  on  all  oc- 
casions; and  the  man  or  woman  that  does  not  understand 
grammar  as  he  understands  it,  and  give  a  definition  or  a  rule 
as  he  has  memorized  it,  he  denounces  as  ignorant  and  low- 
bred. And  so  of  other  branches.  Pedantry  is  the  pride  of  lit- 
tleness. 

A  little  knowledge  is  an  odious  thing.  A  full  and  system- 
atic knowledge  of  any  one  branch,  as  treated  by  various  con- 
flicting authors,  will  free  any  man,  not  a  born  fool  or  a  hope- 
less knave,  from  this  stench  of  pedantry.  Teachers,  beware, 
then,  that  you  acknowledge  no  one  text-book  as  your  mas 
ter,  but  rather  use  all  text-books  as  your  servants,  all  refer- 
ence books  as  your  counselors ;  nature  and  revelation,  under 
the  guidance  of  a  humble  spirit  of  inquiry,  as  your  only  ade- 
quate authority,  your  ultimate  court  of  appeal. 


102 


LECTURE    VIII. 


But  I  am  not  quite  done  with  Pedantry  yet.  If  you  will  no- 
tice from  the  beginning  in  the  mechanical  arts,  say,  penman- 
ship, up  to  the  highest  science  we  can  grasp  in  this  mortal 
state,  the  science  of  holy  living:  you  will  find  this  asser- 
tion sustained  by  facts.  The  more  one  knows,  the  more  eager 
he  ig  to  learn.  The  most  beautiful  penman  I  ever  knew,  Mr. 
Lusk,  was  the  most  assiduous  in  his  efforts  still  for  higher  im- 
provement; and  the  most  earnest  and  lovely  Christian  I 
ever  knew,  1  will  not  mention  her  name,  is  the  most  prayer- 
fully eager  for  higher  attainments  in  the  divine  life. 

Pedantry,  then,  makes  itself  odious  by  the  satisfaction  it 
enjoys  in  knowing  all  that  needs  to  be  known  on  any  subject, 
and  by  rejecting  all  further  investigation  as  useless,  and  its 
results  as  "  positive  error." 

SELF-DIFFICUTY  V. — WANT  OF  CONFIDENCE  IN  ONE'S  SELF. 

It  is  no  wonder,  teacher,  that  whenever  you  take  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  innumerable  duties,  the  immense  re- 
sponsibilities, the  exhausting  labors,  the  perplexing  anxieties 
of  the  teacher's  life,  that  you  often  cry  out,  "Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?"  and  feeling  your  own  inadequacy,  you,  for 
the  moment,  stagger,  as  powerless  for  the  conflict. 

I  suppose  every  truly  successful  teacher  has  such  experi- 
ences. It  is  oily  shams  and  quacks  that  do  not. 

But  if  this  spirit  of  self-distrust  is  in  the  ascendant,  you 
are  already  a  failure.  No  ;  true  manhood,  true  womanhood  is 
only  incited,  thus,  to  more  earnest  effort  and  cheerful  daring, 
and  declares,  "I'll  win,  or  die  in  the  attempt." 

Nor  is  this  all;  every  such  noble  spirit  resolves  that  every 
day's  labor  shall  be  more  effective  than  any  past  one;  that 
every  term's  experience  shall  make  the  next  a  higher  success  ; 
that  every  successive  class  taught  in  any  given  branch,  shall 
be  better  managed,  more  effectively  drilled,  more  deeply  and 
thoroughly  roused  to  an  earnest  and  cheerful  activity,  than 
any  preceding  one. 

But  there  are  multitudes  of  quacks  in  our  profession — 
hodge-podge  teachers,  humdrum  teachers,  force  teachers, 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT..  103 

talking  teachers,  everlasting  /  teachers,  and  yet  other  like 
classes,  who  know  no  more  of  these  responsibilities  and  diffi- 
culties "in  the  school-room,"  and  in  one's  self,  which  I  have 
been  describing,  than  the  latest  and  veriest  humbug  adver- 
tiser of  buchu  or  bitters,  that  cures  all  the  complaints  and 
catastrophes  of  this  earthly  existence,  can  be  supposed  to 
know  of  the  laws  of  life  or  the  righteous  retributions  of  Di 
vine  Providence  to  guilty  men  like  himself. 

To  such  teachers,  more  than  life  destroyers,  I  have  noth- 
ing to  say.  They  are  not  here.  They  will  continue  to  bluster 
and  bruise,  to  imprison  and  dishearten,  to  turn  a  labor  of  love 
into  the  impositions  of  tyranny,  to  make  the  school-room  and 
all  remunerative  labor  hateful  and  oppressive,  to  render  their 
pupils  as  unfit  to  enter  on  any  rational  and  honest  course  of 
life,  as  they  themselves  are  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
school-room,  in  spite  of  anything  I  can  do  for  them. 

But  I  address  myself  most  hopefully  to  you,  my  friends, 
feeling  that  we  have  considered  all  these  difficulties  thus  far 
with  a  common  appreciation  of  their  magnitude  and  force; 
and  yet  feeling  that  this  consideration  has  the  more  fully  pre 
pared  us  to  grapple  with  and  turn  them  to  good  account,  in 
stead  of  being  disheartened  or  crushed  by  them. 

SELF- DIFFICULTY  VI.    WANT  OF  CONFIDENCE  IN  HUMAN  NATURE. 

By  this  confidence  in  human  nature,  I  do  not  mean  that 
easy,  slip-shod  goodness  which  will  make  you  the  constant 
dupe  of  every  ready-mouthed  pretender,  whining  hypocrite,  or 
self-excusing  shirk,  in  your  school;  nor  yet,  that  confidence 
which  trusts  no  pupil  any  further  than  you  can  watch  him. 
Of  these  two  extremes,  I  believe  the  former  the  least  perni- 
cious, however,  in  its  school  results.  I  will  try  to  show  you 
what  kind  and  extent  of  confidence,  I  think,  we  teachers 
ought  to  exercise  toward  our  pupils. 

While  I  am  a  believer  in  general  depravity,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  any  person  is  so  bad  that  he  can  be  no  worse;  but 
rather  that  there  is  no  person  so  entirely  corrupt,  but  that  yet 
there  remains  in  him,  deep  down,  perhaps,  some  lingering,  not 


LECTURE    VIII. 

quite  extinguished  susceptibility  for  kindness,  some  generous 
feeling  not  quite  smothered,  that  you  can  reach,  teacher,  if 
you  have  the  power,  the  tact  to  seize  upon  and  apply  the 
proper  means,  at  the  proper  juncture.  It'  you  can  possibly 
discover  any  good  quality  or  capability  in  such  a  pupil,  or  can 
learn  of  any  good  act  that  he  ever  performed,  it  may  become 
a  basis  for  a  sincere  recogition  of  some  real  worth,  which  may 
be  succeeded  by  such  a  course  of  kindly  appreciation  and 
healthy  encouragement,  as  he  has  never  before  experienced*, 
and  which,  if  pursued  with  some  adroitness  and  much  pa- 
tience and  charity,  will  win  his  friendship  and  cordial  esteerr. 
Thus,  not  unlikely,  you  may  have  his  life-long  gratitude,  for 
his  redemption  from  ignorance  and  crime. 

Do  not  drive  any  bad  boy  out  of  school  on  too  slight 
grounds.  Exercise  faith  and  patience  a  little  longer.  When 
you  are  compelled  to  suspend  or  expel  a  pupil,  you  really  ac- 
knowledge your  own  incapacity  to  manage  his  case ;  besides, 
not  unlikely,  you  thus  take  from  him  the  last  opportunity  for 
reformation  and  the  last  prospect  for  a  useful  life. 


SELF-DIFFICULTY  VII.     WANT  OF  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD. 

I  claim,  that  the  teacher,  above  all  other  men,  needs  a  liv- 
ing Christian  faith,  a  childlike,  loving  obedience  to  divine  be- 
hest, and  a  perfect  and  filial  submission  to  the  Master's  will. 

Such  are  the  trials,  vexations,  and  difficulties,  such  the 
claims  on  his  charity,  patience,  and  fortitude,  such  the  de- 
mands on  him  for  ingenuity,  foresight,  and  strategy,  that  no 
numan  ability  would  seem  adequate  to  the  case.  If  then  there 
is  any  man  that  needs  to  live  by  prayer  and  close  communion 
with  God,  and  thus  be  permeated  and  energized  by  the  might 
of  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  all  wisdom  and  goodness,  it  is 
the  teacher. 

1  doubt  whether  there  is  a  Christian  teacher,  in  this  hall, 
but  has  come  to  a  point  sometime,  many  times,  when  he  felt 
that  he  did  not  know  what  to  do,  or  how  to  manage  the  par- 
ticular case.  He  is  unable,  perhaps,  to  decide  whether  this 
new  difficulty,  or  complication  of  difficulties,  that  presses  upon 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  105 

him,  demands  definite  and  summary  action,  or  yet  forbear 
ance  and  prudent  delay.  Now  there  are  times  like  this,  in 
the  experience  of  every  working,  hopeful,  teacher.  u  Every 
heart  knows  its  own  bitterness." 

In  such  emergencies,  the  devoted,  Christian  teacher  brings 
his  grief,  his  perplexity  to  the  Master.  In  the  spirit  of  hum- 
ble confidence  he  rolls  the  burden  off  upon  Him  who  is  wait- 
ing to  receive  it.  He  finds  relief  deliverance.  A  light  break 
up  in  his  path.  That  which  was  about  to  crush  or  undo  him 
is  seen  necessary  to  his  highest  success.  Thus  he  is  led  in  a 
way  that  he  knew  not,  and  the  eternal  promise  again  made 
sure. 

Shall  we  not  glory  in  our  profession  then,  my  Christian 
friends,  as  that  which  more  effectually,  than  all  others,  trains 
us  to  a  humble  and  constant  trust  in  the  Redeemer's  love? 

The  devoted  teacher,  sensible  of  the  high  trust  committed; 
inspired  with  the  honor  conferred  by  the  Master,  in  calling 
Mm  to  this  work;  aspiring  always  for  improvement  on  his 
own  plans,  methods,  and  previous  successes ;  filled  with  a  firm 
(rust  that  his  lack  will  be  more  than  made  up  by  the  presence 
and  guidance  of  the  Master;  encouraged  by  the  daily  increas- 
ing energy,  docility,  and  enthusiasm  of  his  pupils;  sustained 
by  the  consciousness  that  he  is  energizing  these  pupils  for  a 
beautiful  and  true  life,  and  by  the  feeling  that  he  may  be  in- 
strumental in  saving  some  soul  from  death,  even  in  this  his 
legitimate  school-room  work  ;  and  yet  more  and  more  uplifted 
by  the  smiles  of  the  Master  on  his  efforts;  the  days  glide 
swiftly  by,  every  day  too  short  to  complete  its  labor  of  love; 
but  each  succeeding  day  more  and  more  characterized  by  the 
abounding  goodness  of  God,  in  his  successes,  his  victories,  his 
triumphs  over  every  obstacle,  over  himself,  and  this  last  diffi- 
culty, want  of  confidence  in  God.  How  can  the  teacher  bo 
otherwise  than  blessed  in  his  work?  How  can  his  career  be 
anything  less  than  that  of  "the  shining  light  that  shineib 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 


LECTURE   ON  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT 


LECTURE    IX. 

HUMAN  CONSTITUTION. 

With  Some  Views  of  its  Proper  Sc7wol  Training. 
PRELIMINARY. 

I  HAVE,  thus  far,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  been  considering 
with  you,  the  teacher's  QUALIFICATIONS,  DIFFICULTIES,  and  RELA- 
TIONS, making  the  teacher  himself  the  central  objective  point 
of  investigation. 

With  the  QUALIFICATIONS,  1  have  endeavored  to  give  some 
principles,  directions,  and  incentives,  designed  to  elevate  our 
views  of  our  work,  and  to  arouse  us  to  a  higher  appreciation 
of  our  duties,  responsibilities,  and  rewards,  in  order  to  stimulate 
us  to  a  higher  order  of  qualificafions.  With  the  DIFFICULTIES, 
I  have  endeavored,  incidentally,  to  point  out  a  few  specific 
remedies  for  some  of  them,  but  more  particularly  to  impress 
on  our  minds  that  there  are  few,  if  any,  difficulties  that,  with 
sufficient  skill  and  patience,  may  not  be  converted  into  real 
advantages.  The  general  system  of  Normal  School  Manage- 
106 


LECTURE   IX.  107 

ment,  by  which  all  these  difficulties  and  all  others  are  to  be 
met  and  converted,  is  of  course  yet  to  come.  In  discoursing 
both  of  QUALIFICATIONS  and  DIFFICULTIES,  I  have  constantly  de- 
sired to  impress  on  our  minds  the  true  RELATIONS  of  the  teacher 
to  the  present  status  of  the  pupil,  to  his  future  temporal  life 
and  to  his  eternal  well  being. 

I  shall,  in  the  remaining  lectures. of  the  course,  take  the 
INDIVIDUAL  PUPIL,  and  the  SCHOOL,  as  objective  points  for  consid- 
eration, and  try  to  show  the  elements  and  woikings  of  human 
nature  in  its  complex  mechanism  in  the  individual,  and  still 
more  complex  bearings  in  the  school,  keeping  in  view 
always  its  relation  to  the  external  world,  i.  <?.,  to  the  life- 
work  in  business,  in  family,  in  church,  and  in  state.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  keep  in  view  also,  the  subordinate,  final,  and 
supreme  ends  of  human  existence,  as  revealed  in  experience, 
observation,  and  the  Word  of  God;  and  with  these  lights  to 
present  a  system  of  school  management  which  will  be  wor 
thy  of  your  careful  consideration,  and,  I  trust,  of  your  hearty 
approval  and  ready  adoption. 

Few,  if  any,of  all  the  multitudinous  and  elaborate  works  on 
education,  with  which  I  am  familiar,  give  any  exposition 
whatever  of  the  human  constitution,  and  no  professedly  edu- 
cational work,  so  far  as  I  know,  gives  any  adequate  outline 
even,  of  this  complicated  machine,  human  nature.  Availing 
myself  of  the  best  aids  within  my  reach,  I  have  made  out 
such  an  outline,  which  I  present  here.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  give  an  exposition  of  this  outline.  I  present  it  in  order  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  immense  complexity  of  the  mechanism 
on  which  we  work — with  the  hope,  also,  that  you  may  be  in- 
cited to  study  the  appropriate  works  for  the  elucidation  of 
this  outline;  I  take  great  pleasure  in  commending  for  this 
purpose  Hickok's  Science  of  the  Mind,  and  Hopkins'  Moral 
Philosophy — as  among  the  best  books  you  can  obtain  for  this 
purpose. 

I  shall  have  occasion  in  my  subsequent  lectures  to  speak 
of  the  various  capabilities  of  human  nature  as  given  in  this 
chart.  For  this  reason  I  wish  you  would  copy  it  carefully 
from  the  blackboard  and  preserve  it  for  frequent  reference. 


OF   THE 


HUMAN      CONSTITUTION 


I.  Powers.    II.  Susceptibilities.    III.  Ends. 

I.  Powers,  body  or  matter,  soul  or  vitality,  spirit. 

A.  BODY,  material  element,  indestructible,  wasting  and  renewing. 
d.  INTRINSIC  FORCES,  gravitation,  repulsion,  polarity. 

*.    EXTRINSIC  FOPOES,  light,  beat,  electricity. 

c.   SUSCEPTIBILITIES,  crystalization,  chemical  change,  vitality. 

B.  SOUL,  vital  element,  perishable,  waxing  and  waning. 

a.  VEGETABLE  LIFE,  reproduction,  growth,  repair. 

b.  ANIMAL  LIFE,  locomotion,  sensation,  instinct. 

c.  RATIONAL  LIFE,  thought,  volition,  enjoyment. 

C.  SPIRIT,  divine  element,  immortal,  ever  progressive, 

a.  INTELLECT,  perception  or  senses,  conception  or  understanding,  acception  or  reasoc 


1.  Perception,          tecouaneas     attention'  observation,  penetration. 

2.  Conception,  m,  presentative:  imaging,  creating,  combining, 

n,  representative:  memory,  association,  imagining. 

p,  reasoning  or  judgment. 
T,  abstraction,  classification,  generalization. 
y,  comparison,  inference,  application. 


(for  profit. 
.  <tbr  pleasure. 
(BY  COMM 


z.  construction,  svstematizing,  utilizing. 

COMMUNICATION. 

3.  Acception. 

m,  accepts  or  realizes  truths:  x,  original;  y,  necessary;  z,  universal. 

n,  in  primary  x,  cognitions;  y,  beliefs;  z,  judgments. 

p,  for  intuitive  ends:  x,  beauty,  y,  goodness,  z,  holiness. 


(of  property. 

6.  SENSIBILITY:  1,  appetites;  2,  desires;    <of  knowledge.     3, 

(of  power. 


affectiona. 


I.ECniRE    IX, 


..,          ..  .  .  (choice  or  (purpose  or  (energy  or 

>ns'     ^election,    ^determination,    {enthusiasm. 

I.  TENDENCIES,  hereditary,  social,  habitual. 

'  (world,  {heaven, 

2    MOI.TE  PHVERS:    bad  « flesh,     good  ^conscience, 
(devil.  (Holy  Spirit. 

3.  MEANS  OF  TRAINING  (home, 
on  ^school, 

FORMING  HABITS.        (business. 

II.  Susceptibilities. 

A.  HABIT,  trained  by  repetition,  effort,  rewards. 

B.  EXCITABILITY,  aroused  by  j^-    J1™'.  ^  &±m. 

C.  MORAL  STATE,  determined  by  faith,  works,  supreme  end. 

III.  Ends. 

A.  CLASSES,  subordinate,  final,  supreme. 

B.  FIELDS,  school,  life,  eternity. 

C.  OBJECTS,  self,  neighbor,  God. 

0.  AIMS,  happiness,  usefulness,  blessedness. 

(securing  rights,      fdirectmcthods   (inciting,  restraining, 
a,  to  self  ^supplying  wants,  s  ^guiding. 

(perfecting  powers  |  [exercising faculties 

to  bless  others, 

perfecting  powers  i  indirect  methods,;  by  example, 

C.  OBJECTS  !  arousing  joy,  grat 

" »,  sympathy. 


OBLIGATIONS,  • 

DUTIES, 
AOTITITIES: 


to  neighbors 


L  The  Method   jForming  Habits- 

(  or  Education, 
(securing  the  rights  of  others, 
general  <supplying  the  wants  of  others, 

(in  proving  the  powers  and  condition, 
fin  fimilv   $husband»  parents,    brothers, 
soecialJ  y   'wife'          children,  sisters. 

]  in  church,  officers,  members,  non-memb'ru 
state,  magistrates,  citizens,  offenders. 


(devotional,  trusting,  obedient  spirit, 
jcret,  family,  public  prayer, 
ibordination  of  all  to  cause,  kingdom,  love  of  Ohriet 


c,  tc  God  <secret,  family,  public  prayer, 
f  si 


110  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

SCHOOL  TKAINING  DEFINED  AND  EXEMPLIFIED. 

FALSE  AND  TRUE  CONCEPTIONS. 

WITH  this  chart  of  human  nature  before  us,  I  shall  pro- 
ceed  to  evolve  some  aspects  of  what  I  conceive  to  be  the 
true  conception  of  our  school  work  as  teachers,  remember 
ing  thai  the  objective  field  of  consideration  in  this  lecture  is 
the  school  and  every  pupil  in  it. 

Bacon's  apothem,  "Knowledge  is  power"  is  the  claimed 
base  of  the  false  conception  of  school  work:  u  W'.ll  trained 
and  well  directed  activity  is  both  power  and  happiness?  is 
the  real  base  of  the  true  conception.  This  truth  is  found 
not  in  the  works  of  Bacon  nor  Aristotle ;  but  in  all  the  ani- 
mate works  of  God. 

The  false  idea  accepts  acquisition  of  knowledge  as  its  aim, 
culture  and  scholarship  as  its  ends,  and  the  life  of  a  refined 
and  polished  gentleman  as  its  legitimate  result. 

The  true  idea  claims  the  training  of  every  human  power 
and  susceptibility  as  its  aim;  an  energetic,  varied,  and  joy- 
ous activity  as  its  end;  ana  the  life  of  a  successful  busiress 
man,  of  an  influential  citizen,  of  a  working  Christian,  as  its 
result. 

The  false  idea  makes  cramming  the  memory  with  facts 
definitions,  rules,  observations  and  remarks,  its  chief  con- 
cern; it  has  also  some  sordid,  meager  views  of  preparing  to: 
business  in  working  at  arithmetic  and  penmanship;  and  more 
recently  reaches  its  climax  of  absurdity,  in  going  to  a  Com- 
mercial College  to  complete  a  business  education. 

The  true  idea  makes  cheerful,  interested  study,  continued 
;and  earnest  application,  close  and  patient  thought,  its  imme- 
diate and  constant  aims,  ever  feeling  that  these  habits  give 
sure  promise  of  abundant  success  in  business  life. 

The  false  idea  compels  the  pupil  to  study,  ever  regarding 
study  as  an  irksome  toil,  and  exemption  from  it  as  the  high- 
est reward  in  school  life. 

The  true  idea  incites,  permits  pupils  to  study,  ever  regard- 
ing  st  rdy  as  an  exciting  activity,  and  imposes  privation  of  it 
as  a  sufficient  penalty  for  any  derelictions  in  school  life. 


LECTURE   IX.  HI 

The  false  idea  conceives  that  study  and  education  are  fin 
ished  in  Seminary  or  College  course,  and  that  study  is  too 
dreadful  a  thing  ev*r  to  think  of  after  graduating. 

The  true  idea  claims  that  the  pupil  has  only  acquired  cor- 
rect habits  and  effective  methods  of  study,  and  its  profitable 
application;  so  that  the  real  life  work  in  study  and  business 
is  reached  only  when  the  pupil  has  become  independent  of 
his  teachers  and  professors,  and  he  studies  and  works  because 
he  can't  help  it. 

The  false  idea  studies  to  make  good  recitations,  in  order  to 
pass  reputable  examinations,  and  to  secure  promotion,  or  ex- 
emption from  penalty  and  disgrace. 

The  true  idea  studies  to  learn  how  to  study,  to  train  and 
energize  the  mind  to  higher  effort,  and  more  beautiful  results 
in  the  study  and  class-room,-but  immeasurably  more  for  prep- 
aration for  the  responsibilities  of  life. 

The  false  idea  prepares  for  recitation  with  the  expectation 
of  answering  such  questions  as  are  proposed  by  the  teacher, 
either  in  the  words  of  the  book,  or,  at  most,  by  giving  the 
ideas  of  the  text-books. 

The  true  idea  prepares  for  recitations  with  the  expectation 
of  being  called  on  to  engage  in  a  definite  and  accurate  report 
on  some  principal  or  subordinate  topic  involved  in  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  lesson  assigned. 

The  false  idea  conceives  composition  writing  a  regular 
humbug,  to  be  squelched;  an  intolerable  bore,  to  be  shirked 
or  shammed;  or  an  insufferable  nuisance  to  be  abated  by  any 
possible  means,  either  fair  or  foul. 

The  true  idea  is  eager  for  frequent  opportunities  to  give 
written  reports  on  any  included  or  concomitant  topic  of  a 
leseon ;  enjoys  it  as  a  real  privilege  to  engage  with  others  in 
writing  essays  on  topics  assigned  for  such  purpose,  realizing 
that  every  such  effort  gives  new  power  of  investigation,  ne\v 
energy  and  grace  in  an  expression  of  thought. 

The  false  idea  memorizes  one  text-book  and  groans  over 
the  task  of  memorizing  the  words,  or  mastering  the  ideas  of 
this  one  text-book. 

The  true  idea  is  never  satisfied  with  the  views  of  one  an 


112  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

thor,  however  reputable,  but  seeks  spontaneously  to  collate 
the  views  of  other  authors,  that  thus,  by  studying  the  subject 
in  various  aspects,  it  may  be  understood  in  all  its  bearings. 

The  false  idea  is  quite  satisfied  with  the  statements  and 
reasoning  01  one  book,  and  thus  meeting  the  demands  of 
recitations  and  examinations,  never  dreams  that  books  and 
book  lessons  have  any  further  connection  with  life,  or  that 
they  can  be  made  of  any  further  practical  value,  in  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  life. 

The  true  idea  thus  works  with  an  object  beyond  recita- 
tions and  examinations,  and  thus  its  "object"  lessons  are  as 
much  above  those  of  the  false  idea,  as  the  true  object  illus- 
trations are  above  the  so-called  "object  lessons,"  imported 
a  few  years  since  from  Europe. 

The  true  idea  is  never  satisfied  without  making  connec- 
tion between  the  ideas  of  books,  and  the  facts  gathered  from 
experience  and  observation,  in  the  common  or  uncommon 
affairs  of  life;  reducing  the  ideas  of  books  into  living  and 
working  harmony  with  the  actualities  of  life,  and  feeling  an 
eager  and  determined  purpose  to  make  the  school  work  a 
noble  and  beautiful  beginning  of  the  life  work. 

REMARKS   ON   LECTURE   IX. 

This  lecture  is  brief,  for  the  reason,  that  time  was  given 
during  the  hour  of  delivery,  for  the  pupil  teachers  to  transfer 
the  Outline  given,  here,  on  pages  360-61,  from  the  blackboard 
to  their  note-books.  The  next  lecture  hour  was  taken  up  in 
discussing  the  Outline  in  a  general  way. 

1st.  By  calling  for  inquiries  in  case  of  any  difficulty  on 
the  part  of  any  pupil  teacher  hi  understanding  the  signifi- 
cancy  of  any  terms  used,  or  the  relations  of  any  of  the  divis- 
ions or  subdivisions,  and  of  course  in  giving  the  necessary 
explanations. 

2d.  By  calling  for  any  objections  to  any  feature  in  the 
arrangement,  and  answering  such  objections. 

3d.  In  challenging  the  class  to  mention  any  omissions 
in  the  wide  range  of  human  nature  or  experience,  and  show- 
ing how  the  apparent  omissions  were  provided  for  in  the  Out- 
line. 

4th.     In  showing  some  of  the  uses  and  applications  of 


INSTITUTED  113 

this  Outline  in  arranging  and  prosecuting  a  course  of  Educa- 
tion. 

5th.  In  assigning  special  topics  to  individuals  for  invest- 
igation; stating  that  reports  not  exceeding  ten  minutes  in. 
length  would  be  called  for  on  the  next  and  succeeding  days. 
These  reports  and  full  discussion  of  each  by  the  members  of 
the  class  gave,  perhaps,  a  more  practical  knowledge  of  Psy- 
chology and  Ethics,  than  is  ordinarily  obtained  by  the  study 
of  each  of  these  sciences  for  a  full  term. 

8  ! 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT, 


LECTURE    X. 

SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT,  IN  CLASS  MANAGEMENT. 

WITH  this  chart  of  human  nature,  as  given  in  this  outline 
(page  360)  before  us,  and  with  these  aspects  of  the  true 
idea  of  school  work  designed  to  be  made  more  palpable  by 
contrasting  them  with  the  prevailing  false  views  and  prac 
tices  as  given  in  my  last  lecture,  I  shall  proceed  to  more 
direct  statement,or  the  evolution  of  the  Normal  Method  of 
school  management.  As  this  method  claims  that  all  right 
mental  and  moral  action  is  free  action,  and  as  this  school 
management  operates  by  inciting  and  guiding  the  WILL  to 
free  and  cheerful  action,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  teacher's 
WORK  is  chiefly  done  while  in  mental  and  moral  contact 
with  the  pupil,  viz :  during  recitation,  though  his  influence 
must  pervade,  and  in  no  small  measure  control,  the  entire 
being  of  the  pupil. 

The  management  of  a  class,  then,  during  recitation,  must 
have  for  its  concern  the  entire  training  of  the  man  or  woman  ; 
not  that  this  training  is  then  and  there  accomplished,  but 
that  it  must  be  aimed  at,  provided  for,  worked  for,  most  stren- 
uously. Nor  is  it  to  be  inferred  that  the  teacher  is  to  have 
no  other  interest,  than  what  he  can  exercise  in  his  class  drill, 
but  rather  that  he  is  to  observe  out  of  the  class  with  increas- 
ing satisfaction,  daily,  the  results  of  his  labors  in  the  class 
and  thus  to  obtain  the  data  by  which  to  guide  his  own  fur- 
ther efforts  and  inspirations.  He  is  also  to  notice  those  er- 
rors and  weaknesses  in  the  habits  of  the  pupil  which  need 
114 


LECTUKE   X. 

special  attention  and  special  arrangements  for  their  correc- 
tion. 

It  is  still  claimed,  however,  that  the  class  drill  is  the  time 
and  place  where  activities  are  to  be  roused  and  directed,  cor- 
rected and  stimulated,  from  day  to  day,  and  thus  good  HAB- 
ITS of  study  and  labor  formed  and  established ;  and  thus  the 
Normal  method  places  class  exercise  and  class  management 
as  the  necessary  BASIS  of  all  correct,  or  normal  school  man- 
agement. 

EDUCATION,  THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS. 

A  good  education  is  the  accomplished  fact  of  good  habits 
established  in  the  man  or  woman ;  habits  in  that  direction 
which  shall  produce  the  best  results  the  individual  is  capable 
of,  for  the  good  of  society,  and  for  his  own  individual  happi- 
ness both  here  and  hereafter. 

The  most  that  the  teacher  can  do,  or  need  do,  for  his  pu 
pil,  is  to  aid  him  in  forming  and  establishing  good  habits, 
thus  preventing  him  from  forming  bad  habits,  by  forestalling 
rather  than  by  repressing  them.  If  the  heart  and  will  are 
habitually  and  earnestly  engaged  in  the  practice  of  good  for 
good  ends,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  temptation  to  evil,  no 
possibility  of  it. 

Hence,  1  repeat:  that  class  management,  which  by  so 
continuously  directing  and  stimulating  the  mental  and  moral 
action  of  the  pupil  as  to  form  correct  and  established  habits, 
is  most  essentially  the  correct,  or  normal  management,  not 
only  of  the  class  but  of  the  school ;  and  that  class  manage- 
ment wTliich  forms  bad  habits,  or  does  not  positively  and  ef- 
fectively form  good  habits  of  mental  and  moral  action,  is  in- 
correct, vicious,  abnormal. 

HABITS  TO  BE  AIMED  AT  IN  CLASS  MANAGEMENT. 
1.  THE  HABIT  OF  CHEERFUL,  EARNEST  INDUSTRY. 

This  industry  must  be  incited  by  legitimate  ends  and  sus- 
tained by  appropriate  means.  All  labor  or  study  performed 


116  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

from  the  fear  of  punishment,  is  eye-service,  slavery,  and  fixes 
more  deeply  the  hatred  of  work,  and  the  habit  of  laziness. 
It  is  strange  that  parents  and  teachers  can  not  see  it.  Slavery 
has  ever  been  a  failure,  and  the  misfortune  or  ruin  of  all  who 
Were  engaged  in  it.  Why  should  we  practice  it  on  those  we 
love  and  desire  to  bless  ? 

All  labor  or  study, performed  from  the  desire  or  hope  of 
some  extra  sensual  gratification,  is  mere  animalism  or  diabol- 
ism ;  and  no  such  motive  should  be  resorted  to  by  teachers 
or  parents  who  desire  to  promote  the  permanent  well-being 
of  the  pupil  or  child.  Hence,  rewarding  children  for  some 
good  act,  or  some  right  course  of  conduct,  as  staying  in  at 
night,  or  milking  a  cow  regularly  and  thoroughly,  by  giving 
some  extra  indulgence,  as  money  to  go  to  a  circus,  is  train- 
ing the  child  to  both  laziness  and  lust. 

And  that  teacher  who  rewards  his  pupils  for  good  recita- 
tions and  good  order,  by  giving  a  half -holiday  or  by  letting 
out  school  a  half-hour  earlier  than  usual,  while  he  punishes 
pupils* for  remissness  or  failures  in  study  and  order,  by  keep- 
ing them  after  school,  and  compelling  them  to  take  an  extra 
half-hour  of  prison  work  or  confinement,  is  training  those 
pupils  to  hate  study  and  the  school ;  and  he  unwittingly,  but 
most  effectually,  fixes  the  habits  of  laziness  and  shirking  on 
the  life  and  heart  of  those  pupils. 

The  only  industry  in  school  life  that  is  of  any  permanent 
value,  is  that  which  arises  from  voluntary  action  in  a  state  of 
freedom,  the  industry  of  choice ;  eager,  earnest  occupation  of 
the  whole  mind,  from  the  irresistible  impulses  of  a  cheerful, 
willing  heart. 

Such  a  HABIT  of  earnest  industry  once  fixed,  ^s  worth 
more,  as  an  education^  than  all  else  that  can  be  acquired  in 
school  or  college  life  without  it.  And  that  habit  of  laziness, 
so  often  the  direct  result  of  school  and  college  training, 
which  shirks  or  shams  all  real  work  whenever  it  is  possible 
without  immediate  disgrace,  is  a  rottenness  in  the  bones  that 
no  acquisitions  in  knowledge,  no  attainments  in  culture,  no 
graces  of  manner,  can  ever  compensate  or  atone  for. 

What  a  pitiable  object  such  a  lazy  wretch  is!  a  failure  in 


LECTURE    X. 


117 


himself,  a  burden  to  his  friends,  a  curse  to  society.  How 
long  will  it  be  before  he  is  a  hopeless  inebriate,  or  an  aban- 
doned debauchee — this  highly  educated  gentleman  ? 

It  is  true  that  some  escape  the  blighting  effects  of  this 
kind  of  school  and  college  training,  and  in  spite  cf  it  become 
useful  men.  If  they  do  surmount  such  influences  and  leave 
college  with  any  determining  moral  principle,  any  inspiring 
love  of  work,  they  surely  may  be  expected  to  overcome  all 
other  difficulties  in  their  way  to  eminence  and  distinction, 

2.  THE  HABIT  OF  CAREFUL,  THOROUGH  INVESTIGATION. 

No  one  cause  will  incite  children  and  youth  to  cheerful 
and  eager  labor,  more  than  the  desire  of  knowledge.  (See  out- 
line, page  360.)  It  can  be  made  constant  use  of  by  the  judi- 
cious teacher,  in  inciting  to  diligent  study.  But  it  requires 
skill,  patience,  and  foresight,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  to 
make  this  natural  stimulus,  healthy  and  powerful  as  it  is, 
ever  available,  ever  increasingly  available.  Hence  the  ne- 
cessity of  considerable  breadth  of  practice  and  variety  of  ex- 
ercise, to  promote  careful  and  thorough  investigation.  The 
memorizing  of  one  text-book,  however  good,  is  in  most  cases 
the  bane  of  industry,  and  the  impassable  barrier  to  investiga- 
tion; and  the  teacher  must  contrive  other  methods  than 
"learning  a  book  through  by  heart"  to  secure  any  good  hab- 
its whatever. 

To  secure  persistent  industry  as  a  Jiabit,  by  means  of  the 
habit  of  investigation,  1  would  make  use  of  two  artifices  : 

Artifice  1. — To  secure  thorough  investigation,  I  would 
have  pupils  write  their  lessons.  This  artifice  requires  man- 
agement, of  course,  to  obviate  all  the  objections  which  any 
old  fogy  teacher  will  necessarily  raise  against  it.  In  each 
branch  some  peculiar  plan  must  be  adopted  to  secure  the 
ends,  viz  :  thorough  investigation  and  cheerful  industry. 

Advantages  of  the  Writing  Method  of  Study. 

1.  The  pupil  is  constantly  practicing  and  improving  in  hia 
penmanship,  capitalizing,  spelling,  syntax,  and  punctuation, 


118  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

which  exercises  are  all  avoided  in  the  common  book  method 
of  study,  or  the  whiaaa-whizaa  plan. 

2.  The  mind  of  the  pupil  is  very  much  aided  and  encour- 
aged by  the  employment  of  the  fingers,  and  by  seeing  on 
paper  or  on  slate  the  results  of  its  labor. 

jRe?nark. — This  is  a  kind  of  object  lesson  drill  that  amounts 
to  something  in  developing  attention,  observation,  penetra- 
tion, clear  conception,  correct,  free,  and  happy  use  of  lan- 
guage in  the  expression  of  thought. 

3.  Whereas,  by  the  common  method  of  study,  the  slow, 
honest  student  is    constantly  discouraged  by  his   mistakes 
and  inefficiency,  as  they  are  brought  out  and  censured  in  re- 
citation ;  while  the  quick  and  mischievous  pupil  is  as  con- 
stantly commended  in  recitation,  and   thus  encouraged  in 
idleness    and  mischief,  the   greater  part   of  his  time  :  this 
method  gives  ample  opportunity  for  the  teacher  to  commend 
the  slow  and  backward     pupil,   for  his  industry  and  faithful 
effort ;  while  the  active  and  sharp  pupils  will  be  held  to  con- 
tinual application,  by  writing  the  lessons  and  pursuing  their 
investigations,  as  they  never  can  be  on  the  whizza-whizza 
plan. 

4.  The  pupil  is  constantly  learning  to  think  independent- 
ly, and  voluntarily  to  use  his  dictionary  and  other  reference 
books  in  the  preparation  of  his  lessons,  in  order  to  secure  the 
most  exhaustive  reports  on  any  subject  assigned. 

Remark. — The  objections  to  the  writing  method  of  study 
may  be  numerous,  but  they  all  disappear  or  become  real  ad- 
vantages under  proper  management.  The  plan,  as  I  have 
before  said,  must  be  modified  to  meet  the  demands  of  every 
different  branch,  and  to  suit  the  different  powers  of  pupils  of 
different  ages ;  and  when  so  modified  with  any  degree  of  skill 
or  good  judgment,  every  objection  is  removed,  and  the  ob- 
jects are  secured,  viz:  the  habit  of  critical,  thorough  in- 
vestigation, and  the  habit  of  continuous,  cheerful,  earnest 
labor. 

Artifice  %.  For  promoting  thorough  investigation,  I  would 
secure  such  an  arrangement  of  the  processes  of  recitation, 
as  will  make  the  principle  of  emulation  the  most  effective 


LECTURE   X. 


119 


on  the  most  backward  in  a  class,  rather  than  on  the  most 
forward. 

In  a  subsequent  lecture,  I  shall  explain  such  an  order, 
and  describe  some  of  the  various  processes  by  which  em- 
ulation may  be  made  a  healthy  stimulus  to  all  in  a  class, 
rather  than,  as  it  too  often  is,  an  evil  and  an  evil  only,  by  in- 
citing the  forward,  those  only  who  do  not  need  the  stimulus, 
find  discouraging  the  backward,  the  only  ones  who  do  need  it. 

3.  THE  HABIT  OF  SYSTEMATIC  ARRANGEMENT  AND  METHODIC 

ACTION. 

The  habit  of  good  order,  as  opposed  to  carelessness,  slov- 
enliness, shiftlessness,  is  one  of  vital  importance  in  school 
training.  The  natural  depravity  of  man  is  in  no  other  par- 
ticular so  universally  exhibited  as  in  this.  While  the  love 
of  order  and  system  is  instinctive  with  every  child,  his  natu- 
ral laziness  or  carelessness  is  averse  to  the  restraints  and  the 
efforts  to  secure  the  benefit  of  good  order  in  his  own  case, 
however  much  he  may  admire  it  in  others.  Hence,  here  is 
where  the  teacher  can  exert  his  most  needed  and  most  salu- 
tary influence  in  molding  the  character  of  his  pupils. 

To  excite  the  love  of  order  so  vigorously,  to  exhibit  its 
necessity  and  advantages  so  constantly  and  beautifully,  as  to 
induce  in  the  heart  of  his  pupils  a  decided  preference  for 
svstematic  arrangement,  and  to  establish  it  in  his  actions  as 
a  controlling  usage,  in  other  words,  a  fixed  habit,  is  a  work  no 
less  than  any  other  that  a  conscientious  teacher  should  strive 
to  accomplish.  Such  a  habit,  controlling  personal,  mental, 
business,  and  religious  activities,  will  obviously  be  worth 
more  than  all  other  school  acquisitions  ;  in  fact,  is  the  very 
essence  of  the  first  and  overtopping  lidbit  of  a  love  of  work, 
without  which  life  soon  becomes  a  barren  waste,  or  a  living 
hell. 

Besides  the  other  Normal  methods  of  securing  order,  by 
the  love  of  it,  which  will  be  explained  hereafter — and  the 
systematic  disposition  of  time  in  school  hours  for  study,  as 
well  as  for  recitation,  provided  for  on  the  general  school  pro 


120 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


gramme,  I  shall  give  a  brief  view  of  the  plan  of  using  out- 
lines to  stimulate  methodic  study  and  systematic  thought. 
1.  Outlines  supplied  by  the  teacher;  2.  Outlines  made  by 
the  pupils. 


Arranging  Subjects  in  Outline. —Normal  Artifice. 

(Method  by  the  Teacher.) 

1.  An  outline  can  be  given  on  the  blackboard  for  the 
study  of  any  successive  lesson  in  a  given  branch. 

Example. — I  will  take  a  lesson  in  geography,  and  will  as- 
sume that  the  subject  of  the  next  lesson  is  Massachusetts. 
After  having  attended  to  the  recitation  of  the  previous  les- 
son, 1  write  on  the  blackboard,  a  list  of  topics  by  which  the 
class  are  to  study  the  subject.  Rather,  I  ask  some  member 
of  the  class  to  transfer  to  the  blackboard  the  outline,  or  list 
of  topics  which  I  have  previously  prepared  on  paper.  This 
outline  may  be  more  or  less  extensive,  according  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  class,  and  the  facilities  which  they  can 
reach  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  outline.  The  outline  may 
be  divided  into  two  sections  to  meet  the  capabilities  of  two 
different  sections  of  the  same  class ;  for  there  is  great  advan- 
tage in  combining  two  classes  in  geography,  not  too  unlike 
in  advancement,  and  taking  the  time  of  both  classes  for  the 
combined  recitation.  The  less  advanced  portion  of  the  class 
may  be  limited  in  their  study  to  the  topics  in  the  first  section 
of  the  outline,  and  they  will  be  expected  to  recite  only  on 
these  topics ;  while  the  more  advanced  pupils,  forming  the 
second  section  of  the  class,  will  be  expected  to  investigate 
all  the  topics  on  the  list,  and  will  be  permitted  and  encour- 
aged to  add  other  topics  to  the  list.  The  inquiry  for  these 
additional  topics  will  be  made  at  the  beginning  of  each  reci- 
tation; then  the  first  section  will  recite,  on  the  first  section 
of  the  outline,  the  second  section  being  always  called  on  if 
all  the  members  of  the  first  section  fail  in  any  particular. 
Then  the  second  section  are  called  on  to  report  on  the  second 
section  of  topics  in  the  outline. 


LECTURE    X.  121 

Remark  1. — This  method  of  exciting  diligent  study  and 
thorough  investigation  will  give  splendid  results,  if  managed 
with  any  degree  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  The  in. 
terest  of  the  class  will  never  flag;  the  only  trouble  will  be 
that  the  pupils  will  be  inclined  to  take  time  from  other 
branches  to  give  the  branch  so  managed.  But  all  the 
branches  must  be  managed  in  some  such  way,  to  make  them 
equally  attractive.  Thus  study  becomes  a  delight,  instead 
of  a  burden,  the  laggards  are  soon  reached,  and  their  lazy 
bones  are  seen  to  move  in  spite  of  themselves. 

Remark  2. — Any  pupil  of  the  first  section  will  be  permit- 
ted to  pass  into  the  second  section,  whenever  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  teacher  he  can  sustain  himself  there ;  and  thus 
a  healthy  emulation  is  sustained  in  the  first  section.  Pupils 
of  the  first  section  are  also  permitted  to  criticise  the  pupils 
of  the  second  section,  always,  oi  course,  in  the  established 
order  of  the  class. 

(Methods,  with  outlines  by  the  pupils,  in  regular  study  and 

recitation.) 

1.  Enlarging  any  outline  given  by  the  teacher. 

2.  Applying  an  outline  given  for  one  subject  to  another 
designated  by  the  teacher,  and  making  the  appropriate  mod 
ifications. 

3.  After  sufficient  drill  in  previous  methods,  the  pupils 
may  be  requested  to  make  outlines  of  a  subject  or  chapter 
already  gone  over  in  the  regular  study  and  recitation,  during 
several  previous  days.     These  outlines  are,  of  course,  exam- 
ined by  the  teacher,  and  can  be  graded,  1,  as  to  business  ap- 
pearance ;  2,  as  to  exhaustive  investigation  ;  3,  as  to  logical 
arrangement  of  the  matter  contained.     These  outlines  on  pa- 
per may  be  attached  by  the  several  pupils  to  the  wall,  and 
opportunity  thus  given  for  each  pupil  to  complete  his  out- 
line by  examining  the  rest.    A  high  degree  of  emulation  is 
thus  excited  by  exhibiting  each  outline  to  the  whole  class. 
The  class  are  then  called  on  individually,  to  report  orally  on 
any  subordinate  topic  contained  in  the  general  review ;  and 


122  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

thus   a  most  thorough    and  interesting  review    is   accorn 
plished. 

•  Remark. — It  may  be  thought  by  those  teachers  who  have 
not  used  this  outline  method  of  study  and  review,  that  it  will 
make  superficial  students,  and  that  in  working  on  outlines 
they  will  know  nothing  else.  My  experience  has  been  quite 
the  reverse.  The  exhaustiveness  or  completeness  ever  being 
an  object  of  emulation  in  the  class,  the  result  is  a  general 
thoroughness  and  mastery  of  the  subject,  which  can  be  ob- 
tained by  no  other  means  that  I  have  ever  known  tried. 

Outlines  in  composition  writing, 

4.  Pupils  for  composition  writing,  after  previous  practice; 
1,  in  writing  letters;  2,  in  writing  stories  narrated  by  the 
teacher,  or  read  by  the  teacher  from  a  book  to  which  the 
pupils  have  not  access ;  3,  in  simple  descriptions  of  material 
objects,  etc.,  may  be  requested  to  make  each  an  outline  of 
some  miscellaneous  topic.  It  will  be  well  for  the  teacher  to 
give  an  outline  on  the  blackboard  of  some  kindred  topic 
first,  as  a  guide  to  the  effort. 

After  the  general  theme  has  thus  been  investigated  and 
partitioned  by  the  class,  and  the  results  of  the  investigation, 
of  each  have  been  systematically  arranged  in  an  outline,  and 
these  outlines  have  been  examined,  compared  and  graded  by 
the  teacher,  as  before  mentioned,  in  the  particulars  of,  1,  ap- 
pearance ;  2,  thoroughness ;  and  3,  methodical  arrangement ; 
the  teacher  can  distribute  the  subordinate  topics  of  the  samo 
general  subject  to  different  pupils,  to  outline  again ;  and  an 
themes  for  short  essays.  These  essays  will,  of  course,  bo 
read  at  the  regular  time  set  apart  once  a  week  for  the  com- 
position exercises.  The  essays  then  will  be  taken  and  criti- 
cised, and  managed  in  the  manner  described  on  pages  31-33 
NATIONAL  NORMAL. 

Remark  1. — Composition  writing,  managed  in  this  man 
ner,  will  cease  to  be  a  humbug,  a  bore,  and  a  nuisance,  in  the 
nomenclature  of  the  pupil ;  a  bugbear,  a  drag,  a  sham,  a  fiz- 
zle, in  the  vocabulary  of  the  teacher. 


LECTURE    X. 


CONCLUDING  KEMARKS  ON  THE  USE  OP  OUTLINES. 

By  these  and  other  similar  uses  of  outlines  in  regular 
studies,  as  well  as  in  essay  writing  on  miscellaneous  topics, 
the  heart  and  will  are  trained  to  the  habit  of  order: 

1.  In  methodical  study  in  spite  of  books. 

2.  In  methodical  arrangement  of  all  facts,  principles,  and 
applications  of  every  subject  studied. 

3.  In   the  immensely  greater  ease   and  satisfaction  with 
which  the  memory  stores  up  practical  knowledge  for  future 
use ;  and  in  the  wonderful  facility  and  certainty  with  which 
the  memory  furnishes  such  stores  when  needed  for  further 
progress  in  study,  or  for  actual  life  use  in  conversation,  in 
business,  or  in  public  discussion. 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE  TERM  HABIT. 

Before  entering  on  the  discussion  of  the  hist  topic  of  the 
general  theme  of  this  lecture,  I  shall  give  yon  my  idea  of 
the  term,  and  of  the  actuality,  habit. 

As  I  have  used  the  term,  and  as  I  have  found  the  actu 
ality  in  the  human  constitution  (see  Outline,  p.  360),  habit  is 
the  susceptibility  of  doing,  thinking,  and  feeling,  the  more 
readily,  the  more  pleasurably,  and  more  persistently,  from 
frequent  repetition  and  continued  use. 

While  the  aid  and  influence  of  this  susceptibility  in 
school  training  is  hardly  recognized  by  the  majority  of  school 
teachers  and  superintendents,  college  professors  and  presi- 
dents, it  is  really  that  element  in  our  nature  which  makes 
training  of  any  advantage,  and  education  a  possibility. 

Then,  I  am  ready  to  affirm  that  it  is  the  true  educator's 
first  and  only  business,  to  help  the  pupil  to  establish  correct 
habits  of  feeling,  thinking,  working;  not  so  much  to  watch 
for  bad  habits,  that  they  may  be  checked  and  repressed,  as 
to  forestall  them  by  establishing  good  habits.  I  have  before 
shown  how  habits  of  la/iness,  dishonesty,  self-indulgence,  in- 


124  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

volving  a  hatred  of  work,  and  impossibility  of  any  continued 
course  of  useful  effort,  are  to  a  great  extent  the  direct  re- 
sults of  ordinary  school  and  college  training,  that  all  the 
scolding,  coercing,  watching,  spying,  offering  of  prizes,  and 
awarding  of  honors  to  the  few,  are  only  direct  and  sure  meth- 
ods of  introducing  and  establishing  vicious  habits,  in  the 
*nany,  if  not  in  all. 

It  is  manifest  then,  that  any  plan  of  education,  any  course 
of  training,  to  be  what  it  claims  to  be,  what  it  ought  to  be, 
must  be  brought  into  working  harmony  with  the  faculties, 
susceptibilities,  and  true  ends  of  our  being,  as  revealed  by 
the  teachings  of  experience  and  the  light  of  the  gospel,  be- 
fore it  will  with  any  certainty  establish  good  habits,  such  as 
will  enable  the  possessor  to  work  from  choice^  rather  than 
necessity;  and  will  give  him  the  highest  satisfaction  and 
success  in  any  calling  he  may  decide  to  adopt;  will  make 
his  life  a  joy  to  himself  and  his  family,  a  blessing  to  the 
community  in  which  he  lives,  an  honor  to  his  country  and 
his  race. 

NOTE  1.  THE  SUBJECT  CONCLUDED  IN  NEXT  LECTURE.  The  discussion  of  the  theme' 
'  Formation  of  Habits  '  in  school,  will  be  concluded  in  next  lecture. 

NOTE  2.  EXPLANATION.  The  first  lecture  of  this  course  was  printed  from  a  phono- 
graphic report,  the  remaining  lectures  have  been  rewritten,  "with  the  bestowal  of 
much  time  and  labor,  as  the  pressure  of  multiform  duties  and  cares  otherwise 
would  permit. 

NOTE  3.  METHOD  OF  USING  THESE  LECTURES.  This  course  of  lectures  is  substan- 
tially the  same  as  I  have  been  accustomed  to  deliver  to  classes  of  pupil  teachers  for 
several  years.  It  has  been  our  custom  to  spend  the  lecture  hour  of  every  alternate 
day,  in  discussing  points  of  difficulty  or  interest,  involved  in,  or  suggested  by  the 
lecture  last  delivered.  Such  discussions  are  carried  on  chiefly  by  the  pupil  teachers. 
Almost  any  inquires  as  to  the  practical  working  of  ary  method,  or  any  phase  of 
any  method  can  be  elucidated  by  pupil  teachers  present,  who  have  at  some  previous 
time  attended  the  training  class,  and  have  reduced  these  methods  to  pract'ce  in  their 
own  schools.  Thus  my  general  statement,  that  I  propose  no  methods,  of  teaching 
or  management,  which  I  have  not  tried  myself,  and  tried  successfully,  finds  con- 
firmation in  the  experience  of  returned  Normal  Teachers,  who  gladly  avail  them- 
selves of  the  training  class,  the  second  and  in  some  cases,  the  third  time,  to  improve 
their  <  Theory  and  Practice.'  These  returned  students  are  in  this  manner  invaluable 
aids  in  these  discussions,  and  the  discussions  are  immensely  more  useful  to  the 
classes  than  the  lectures  themselves  possibly  could  be. 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  teachers  of  several  public  schools,  on  receiving 
their  copies  of  the  NATIONAL  NORMAL,  to  meet  together,  read  and  discuss  the  lec- 
ture. This  has  also  been  done  by  some  township  and  county  associations,  at  their 
regular  meetings. 


LECTOfiE   ON  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


LECTURE    XL 

SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT  IN  CLASS  MANAGEMENT. 
THE  HABIT  OF   UTILIZATION  :    USEFULNESS  AND   BENEVOLENCE; 

Methods  of  Training. 
1.  The  pupil  should  enable  himself  to  interest  his  class. 

Aside  from  and  beyond  the  motives  already  proposed  as 
proper  incentives  to  diligence  and  order  in  school  manage- 
ment, (more  closely  in  class  management),  which  are  1,  the 
desire  to  know;  2,  the  love  of  order;  and  3,  the  desire  oi 
power  or  superiority  which  emulation  strives  for;  there  is 
a  much  higher  order  of  motives  found  in  the  higher  ends, 
Usefulness  and  Benevolence.  As  they  should  never  be  sepa- 
rated in  life,  I  do  not  see  how  they  can  well  be  separated  in 
school  training. 

The  low  and  selfish  end  of  making  a  good  recitation  to 
avoid  demerit  marks,  or  to  obtain  high  per  cents,  so  often  the 
only  end  relied  on,  as  having  any  power  with  a  class  in  com- 
pelling them  to  study,  while  by  some  college  authorities  it  is 
confessed  to  be  the  only  means  by  which  the  professor  can 
secure  decent  treatment  from  the  students  during  recitation, 
falls  entirely  out  of  consideration  under  *he  more  effective 
stimulus  of  these  higher  ends.  These  ends  can  never  be  ap- 
plied by  force,  nor  while  the  pupil  is  under  coercive  restraint; 
they  can  only  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  free.  Pupils  must 

125 


125  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

act,  if  they  act  at  all  from  such  motives,  of  their  own 
choice,  in  the  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere  of  liberty, 
such  liberty  as  has  for  its  essential  elements  faith,  hope,  and 
love. 

If,  then,  in  the  class  exercise,  each  pupil  is  incited  to  make 
such  effort  as  will  interest  his  class,  and  even  instruct  them, 
an  I  the  teacher  will  so  far  as  time  will  permit,  keep  this  end 
in  view,  pupils  will  find  a  healthy  glow  invigorating  their 
efforts  in  preparation  for  class  drill,  higher,  purer,  more 
stimulating  than  from  merely  studying  to  avoid  bad  marks, 
or  to  obtain  good  ones. 

This  motive  comes  in  play  more  effectively  in  preparing 
special  reports,  and  yet  more  in  writing  essays  on  miscel- 
laneous topics,  but  it  should  be  brought  to  bear  in  every 
ordinary  recitation,  and  arrangements  made  for  it  by  the 
teacher;  that  is,  by  permitting  the  pupil  to  go  beyond  the 
narrow  limits  of  his  text-book  in  preparing  "his  lesson. 

2.  The  pupil  should  enable  himself  to  interest  his  friends 
in  conversation,  and  by  correspondence. 

There  is  no  place  so  favorable  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
social  faculties,  for  their  healthy  development,  as  a  mixed 
school.  The  topics  of  ordinary  regular  school  study,  the 
topics  of  debating  clubs,  of  essays,  besides  the  ever  fresh 
and  varying  current  of  scientific,  educational,  political  and 
religious  news,  of  these  stirring  times,  furnish  continual  and 
ample  material  for  conversation  and  social  discussion,  exclud- 
ing the  foolish,  frivolous,  flirtation  nonsense  or  pruriency  of 
most  other  social  intercourse.  I  am  well  aware  that  any 
teacher  engaged  in  a  separate  school  will  turn  up  his  snuffing 
'nose  at  these  statements.  I  pity  his  blindness  and  ignorance, 
but  let  him  snuff  on.  The  power  to  converse  on  topics  ni 
Science,  Literature,  and  Art,  should  ever  be  held  up  as  a 
noble  and  beautiful  end,  which  class  preparation  and  class 
drill  should  ever  have  in  view. 

How  many  of  the  graduates  of  female  seminaries,  for 
instance,  that  you  ever  saw,  could  bring  a  single  valuable 
idea,  obtained  from  the  study  of  school  books,  or  from  recita- 
tions of  book  lessons,  into  subsequent  social  life.  "Oh,  they 
don't  go  to  those  institutions  to  get  science,  they  go  to  get 


LECTURE    XI.  127 

polish,"  you  say.  Well,  so  let  it  be  understood.  But  how  is 
it  with  the  graduates  of  male  colleges  ?  They  generally 
treat  ladies  as  simpletons,  and  if  they  find  any  lady  otherwise, 
not  a  few  of  them  will  speedily  ubeat  a  retreat  from  the 
strong  minded."  It  is  not  congenial  atmosphere  for  these  col- 
lege gentlemen. 

3.  The  student  should  be  trained  to  make  constant  con- 
nection of  the  ideas  obtained  from  books  and  class  discussion 
with  the  facts  and  phenomena  observed  in  nature,  and  in 
the  common  experience  and  observation  ol  overy-day  life. 

It  has  often  seemed  to  me  in  witnessing  the  recitations  of 
many  different  schools  and  colleges,  that  the  object  is  to  de- 
tach and  draw  off  the  mind  of  the  student  from  every  useful 
application  of  ideas  obtained  from  books,  as  it  were  to  subli- 
mate the  mind  from  all  base  contact  with  sordid  things  of  real 
existence,  real  life.  The  result  of  this  unnatural  course  is7 
that  marks  of  merit  and  demerit  must  be  used  to  stimulate 
the  student  to  any  effort,  and  generally  that  effort  will  be 
the  least  possible,  with  close  calculation,  which  will  exempt 
him  from  public  disgrace.  But  if  by  this  plan  of  management 
the  student  is  made  to  hate  study  and  all  real  effort  m  any  good 
direction,  how  does  he  or  she  fill  up  the  long  unoccupied  hours 
of  school  and  college  life  ?  Let  the  accounts  which  all  such 
students,  when  out  of  school,  give  of  their  mischief,  their  plots, 
their  intrigues,  their  tricks  played  on  the  teachers,  their  mid- 
night revels,  answer.  Who  ever  heard  any  thing  else  of  college 
life,  either  of  male  or  female  college,  that  seemed  to  the 
graduate  to  be  worth  relating?  And  let  the  general  want  of 
success  of  college  graduates  for  several  years  after  leaving 
college,  to  which  fact  there  are  some  noble  exceptions;  let 
the  frequent  self  abandonment  to  vicious  habits  acquired  in 
the  unoccupied  hours  of  college  life,  tell  the  sad  story. 

I  say  then,  the  teacher  can  hardly  with  too  much  care  and 
earnestness  hold  up  to  the  mind  of  the  pupil  the  connection 
of  every  book  statement  with  the  facts  and  phenomena  of 
nature  and  common  life,  and  strive  to  excite  him  to  observe 
these  facts  and  phenomena  for  himself — to  form  cabinets,  to 
store  his  Index  Rerurn  ;  also  in  the  same  spirit  of  remunera- 
tive industry  every  effort  in  preparation  for  recitation,  and 


128  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT/ 

in  recitation  should  be  made  with  constant  and  direct  refer- 
ence to  securing  greater  power  and  more  speedy  success  in 
future  life.  Nor  should  any  common  school  teacher  excuse 
himself  from  this  course  of  action  in  school  management, 
claiming  that  his  brief  connection  with  any  one  set  of  pupils 
san  have  but  little  influence  either  way.  Such  a  teacher,  by 
his. lazy,  shirking  spirit,  turns  the  most  delightful  of  labors 
into  the  most  burdensome  for  himself.  A  succession  of  such 
teachers  make  our  common  schools  the  moral  pest-houses  we 
so  often  find  them. 

In  many  instances  I  have  known  one  good  Normal  teacher 
to  change  the  character  of  a  school  entirely,  open  the  eyes 
of  directors  and  parents  to  the  advantages  of  a  good  school, 
so  that  they  were  unwilling  afterward  to  employ  any  irre- 
sponsible vagabond,  or  frivolous  flirt,  that  could  show  a 
county  examiner's  certificate,  as  they  had  been  before,  pro- 
vided such  a  person  did  not  demand  too  much  wages. 

4.  The  student  should  be  trained  to  propriety  of  expression 
and  cogency  of  thought  in  writing. 

To  this  end  are  directed  the  reporting  of  one  or  two  pupils 
daily  on  some  special  topics  in  every  branch,  as  well  as  to  incite 
tfiem  to  thorough  investigation  and  cheerful  industry.  But 
the  essays  written  on  miscellaneous  topics,  read  and  criticized 
-genii -monthly,  weekly,  or  daily,  are  the  exercises  most  relied  on 
to  accomplish  this  object.  Every  such  class  or  section  should 
have  the  opportunity,  as  often  as  once  a  quarter,  to  read  or 
declaim  their  essays  before  the  whole  school,  a  public  audi- 
ence being  also  invited.  It  may  also  be  proposed  to  a  class 
to  write  an  essay  on  some  subject  of  public  interest,  such  as 
setting  out  shade-trees,  laying  side-walks,  repairing  or  en- 
larging the  school  building,  building  a  lyceum  hall,  etc.,  with 
the  promise  that  the  best  essays  on  the  subject  will  be  pub- 
lished in  the  village  paper;  or  that  several  of  the  essays  will 
be  read  before  a  public  meeting,  perhaps  subsequently  called, 
for  the  same  object.  Even  though  such  essays  are  not  pub- 
lished in  a  newspaper,  or  read  before  a  public  meeting,  such 
a  subject,  in  which  all  pupils  must  be  interested,  is  much 
more  exciting  for  the  time  than  any  other,  and  of  course  so 
much  the  more  effective  in  training  the  class,  the  school,  to 


LECTURE    XI.  129 

useful  and  benevolent  effort;  the  end  proposed  in  this  division 
of  in}'  lecture. 

NORMAL  METHOD  WITH  ADVANCED  CLASSES. 

With  more  advanced  classes  in  the  college  course,  it 
would  he  immensely  more  effective  as  a  means  of  training 
for  the  pupils  to  prepare  and  read  theses  or  lectures,  on  the 
several  subjects  studied,  than  to  listen  to  lectures  from  the 
professor. 

Take  even  the  most  difficult  and  abstruse  of  all  subjects, 
Psychology ;  it  has  been  found  here  by  the  experience  of  sev- 
eral years  with  successive  classes,  that  the  members  of  the 
Senior  year,  who  had  had  the  advantage  of  the  training  of 
the  Junior  year,  could  so  investigate  any  topic  assigned  in 
Psychology — so  describe  the  phenomena  of  any  faculty,  and 
its  relations — so  analyze  their  own  consciousness  with  the  aid 
of  the  various  authors,  as  to  produce  theses  quite  as  original 
and  experimental  as  any  of  those  in  any  of  the  more  recent 
books  compared  with  others  previously  published. 

But  of  how  much  more,  incalculably  more,  value,  in  every 
point  of  view,  is  this  preparation  and  reading  of  lectures  by 
the  students,  with  the  accompanying  criticism  and  discussion 
of  fellow-pupils  and  teacher,  than  the  course  pursued  at 
present  in  the  so-called  best  colleges  and  universities,  which 
is  substantially  this :  the  professor  prepares  a  course,  of  lect- 
ures on  Psychology;  he  delivers  these  lectures  to  the  Senior 
class;  they  listen,  take  notes,  consult  the  prescribed  text- 
book, are  examined  at  each  lecture  hour,  on  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  preceding  lecture,  in  expectation  of  being  ex- 
amined at  the  end  of  the  course  for  honors,  or  at  least  to 
escape  dishonor. 

This  course,  it  is  claimed,  imparts  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  subjects  so  treated.  To  this  I  reply,  that  even  in  this 
particular,  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  it  is  far  inferior  to 
the  plan  of  having  the  students  prepare  their  own  lectures* 

But  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  is  a  very  low  end  com- 
paratively, and  should  so  be  held  always.  The  accumulation 
of  power  for  the  higher  ends  of  business,  of  usefulness,  of 
bonevolence,  ought  to  be  held  as  the  true  aim  of  every  school 


130  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

effort  and  exercise;  ami  in  this  respect  I  affirm,  with  no  fear 
of  successful  contradiction,  that  the  normal  method  of  train- 
ing advanced  classes  is  immeasurably  superior  to  the  present 
college  method.  I  have  tried  both. 

5.  The  pupil  should  be  trained  to  fluency  and  impressive- 
ness  in  speaking. 

While  the  teacher  will  have  clearly  in  his  mind  that  the 
management  of  his  school,  of  every  class  in  his  school,  is  to 
fit  his  pupils  for  their  several  vocations  in  coming  life,  he 
must  not  fail  to  keep  this  end  before  the  minds  of  his  pupils, 
and  show  that  in  every  request,  in  every  plan,  in  every  exer- 
cise, he  has  some  one  or  more  distinctive,  useful  ends  in  view 
for  the  higher  success  of  his  pupil  in  his  business  or  profes- 
sion, in  his  social  standing  and  in  his  general  influence. 

(1.)  The  oral  exercises  of  a  recitation  may  most  assuredly 
be  so  managed  as  to  improve  every  pupil  in  ready  expression 
of  well  defined  thought. 

But  the  almost  universal  practice  of  requiring  memoritet 
answers  to  printed  questions,  the  answers  to  be  memorized 
being  in  many  cases  included  in  pencil  marks  made  by  the 
teacher,  or  copied  by  the  pupil  from  some  book  on  which  he 
Las  made  them;  or  the  somewhat  improved  method  of  the 
pupils  giving  the  ideas  of  the  text-book  in  his  own  language, 
in  answer  to  questions  improvised  by  the  teacher,  who  must 
ever  have  the  text-book  in  hand  during  recitation,  is, 
neither  of  them,  well  calculated  to  make  independent 
thinkers,  nor  good  talkers,  inasmuch  as  the  pupils  so  man- 
aged are  unable  to  say  any  thing  on  the  subject  so  studied 
and  recited,  unless  plied  with  questions;  and  this  never  will 
be,  ojtside  of  the  class-room,  save  on  examination  occasions. 
But  school  recitations  and  county  examinations  are  not  all  of 
these  pupils'  future  life. 

Now,  instead  of  asking  the  questions  printed  in  the  book, 
or  improvising  questions  from  the  page  before  the  eye,  let. 
the  teacher  first  master  the  subject  of  a  lesson,  by  the  aid  of 
reference  books,  better  than  any  pupil  possibly  can ;  let  him 
have  the  subject-matter  of  a  given  recitation  well  systema- 
tized on  paper,  and  thoroughly  imbedded  in  his  own  mind ; 
let  him  feel  himself  independent  of  his  text-book  and  entirely 


LECTURE    XI. 

superior  to  it;  then  he  can  propose  appropriate  topics,  em- 
braced in  the  lesson  to  each  pupil  for  discussion.  These 
topics  will  be  given  to  the  several  pupils  according  to  their 
several  capacities,  and  the  management  of  each  pupil  while 
discussing  his  topic  must  be  according  to  the  pupil's  ability. 
The  teacher  will  not  follow  any  regular  order  or  routine  in 
calling  on  the  pupils  for  their  exercises  in  a  recitation. 

A  topic  having  been  given  to  a  pupil,  that  pupil  will  rise 
in  his  place  and  proceed  with  the  discussion.  If  the  pupil 
decline  to  discuss  the  topic,  being  unprepared,  the  same 
topic  may  be  assigned  to  another.  In  some  cases  it  will  be 
best  to  help  the  beginner  in  this  kind  of  class  drill  with 
some  suggestions,  and  to  aid  him  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
discussion;  but  generally  it  will  be  better  to  ask  no  leading 
questions,  give  no  suggestions,  but  let  the  pupil  learn  to  de- 
pend entirely  on  himself,  on  his  own  memory,  on  the  thor- 
oughness of  his  preparation,  rather  than  on  the  teacher's  aid 
in  recitation.  Provided  any  pupil  declines  or  fails  in  the 
management  of  a  topic  assigned  him,  he  should  always  be 
permitted  to  redeem  himself  on  another  topic,  of  less  difficult 
character,  during  the  same  recitation. 

When  a  pupil  has  finished  his  discussion  of  a  topic,  the 
class  is  called  on  for  criticisms  on  the  manner  and  matter  of 
this  pupil's  discussion;  and  the  teacher  will  also  briefly  add 
his  own  views,  so  far  as  he  can  not  draw  them  out  of  the 
class. 

To  this  method  of  conducting  a  recitation,  the  machine- 
teacher,  the  stupid  teacher,  the  lazy  teacher,  if  any  such 
should  ever  happen  to  heai  ^f  such  a  method,  would  raise 
numerous  objections,  no  doubt.  The  objections  all  lie  in 
their  laziness  or  stupidity,  and  not  in  the  plan.  It  has  been 
used  here,  and  bj^  hundreds  of  our  pupil  teachers  in  their 
more  advanced  classes  the  country  over  for  years,  and  with 
the  highest  success  in  most  cases. 

REMARK.  Let  me  state  here  that  every  plan  which  I  have 
recommended,  or  shall  recommend,  has  undergone  the  ordeal 
of  continued  trial  by  myself  and  numerous  others,  who  have 
been  trained  in  these  Normal  Methods,  and  have  adopted  and 
made  them  work,  generally  with  marked  success 


132  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

(2.)  By  giving  oral  reports  on  special  topics,  connected 
with  the  subject-matter  of  a  lesson,  or  growing  out  of  the 
class*  discussions,  pupils  may  be  trained  to  coherent  and  con- 
tinued discourse.  It  is  generally  best,  at  first,  for  the  pupil 
to  place  an  outline  of  his  report  on  the  blackboard,  and  then, 
with  pointer  in  hand,  give  his  elaboration  of  the  outline  orally, 
relying  on  his  own  power,  obtained  from  previous  preparation, 
for  the  necessary  ideas,  and  the  appropriate  words  to  express 
them. 

After  some  little  practice,  in  this  manner,  the  outline  may 
be  omitted,  and  the  pupil  thus  trained  will  soon  learn  to  de- 
pend on  his  mastery  of  the  subject  and  on  himself  for  a  ercd 
itable  and  interesting  oral  report  on  any  topic  assigned  him 
by  the  teacher. 

REMARK.  This  method  of  giving  reports  is  treated  of  hi 
the  article,  "Books,  and  how  to  use  them,"  on  pages  197-204, 
NATIONAL  NORMAL. 

3.  In  debating   dubs  the    advanced    pupils,    of  many  un 
graded  schools,  even,  may  be  trained  to  ready  and  forcible 
speaking.     The  Normal  Method  of  organizing  and  managing 
debating  clubs  in  school,  is  given  by  Mr.  Carver,  on  pages  94- 
97,  NATIONAL  NORMAL. 

The  only  modification  that  I  would  suggest  is  that  tht< 
teacher  meet  the  older  pupils  in  the  evening  for  his  part  in 
the  exercise,  in  drilling  the  clubs  for  their  management  of 
themselves  and  of  their  questions. 

4.  Declaiming  written  essays  before  the  school,  or  before 
an  invited   audience,  is  an   excellent   introduction  to   public 
debate.     It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  each  pupil  declaim 
his   own  essay,  written  on  a  topic  assigned  by  the  teacher. 
The  teacher  may  or  may  not  examine  and  criticise  the  essay 
before  its  public  delivery,  according  to  his  confidence  in  the 
pupil's  judgment  and  good  feeling. 

5.  Public  debating  on  questions  proposed  by  the   teacher. 
It  is  better,  perhaps,  to  have  the  several  questions  discussed 
by  the  pupils  in  pairs,  and  when  practicable,  a  lady  on  one 
sule  and  a  gentleman  on  the  other. 

6.  Public  speaking   on   living   i$sw$   by  pupils  who  have 


LECTURE    XI. 


133 


succeeded  best  in  the  previous  methods  of  training,  may  be 
expected  as  a  spontaneous  outgrowth  and  necessary  result  of 
such  school  training,  whether  it  be  in  a  College,  Normal 
School,  Academy,  Graded  or  Ungraded  School. 

7.  Religious  students  so  trained  will  feel  it  their  privilege 
and  a  part  of  their  training  to  visit  and  address  Sabbath- 
schools,  and  organize  Sabbath-schools  in  destitute  neighbor- 
hoods; and  when  authorized  and  invited,  to  till  vacant  pul- 
pits, occasionally  or  regularly. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

1.  In    these  lectures  on  School  Management,  as  accom- 
plished chiefly  in  Class  Management,  I  have  endeavored,  by 
presenting  the  real  aims  and  ends  of  school  training,  the  for- 
mation ana  fixation  of  correct  habits,  and  by  giving  some  of  the 
methods  by  which  these   aims  and  ends  can  be  reached,  to 
nhow,  by  contrast,  the  utter  inadequacy  of  the  views  enter- 
tained by  most  college  professors,  school  superintendents,  and 
teachers,  in  reference  to  their  daily  work. 

2.  It  is  plain,  in  the  light  of  this  discussion,  why  college 
an  1  school  life  is  so  often  abortive,  or  rather  why  male  col- 
leges and  female  seminaries  so  seldom  produce  vigorous  work- 
ing alumni. 

3.  It  is  encouraging  to  know  that   several    colleges  are 
partially  adopting  the  freedom  of  the  sexes.     They  will  never 
make  the  plan  work  well,  till  the  young  people  in  school  are 
thrown  entirely  on  their  own  responsibility,  unrestrained  by 
any  laws,  save   the   ten   commandments,    and   the   ordinary 
usages  of  good  society.     Those  individuals  in  any  school  or 
college-  who    transgress    should    be  dealt  with  individually, 
rather  than  that  the  whole  school  should  be  made  antago- 
nistic  to   authority,  by  the  enacting  and  enforcing  of   laws 
entirely  unnecessary  for  the  large  majority,  and  more  than 
useless  for  the  few,  for  whom  they  are  thought  to  be  neces- 
sary. 

4.  If  it  is    objected  to  some  of  these  methods,  that  all 
pupils  do  not  expect  to  become   public  writers  or  speakers, 
and  especially  the  females,  in  very  few,  if  "any  cases,  ought  to 
be  fitting  themselves  for  public  life,  I  reply — 1,  that  there  is 


•- 


134  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT, 

nothing  in  any  of  the  methods  proposed  in  this  or  other  of 
these  lectures  but  what  is  supposed  to  be  subject  to  modifica- 
tion to  suit  the  particular  case  ;  it  is  chiefly  the  SPIRIT  of  these 
methods  that  I  wish  to  set  forth  and  recommend;  2,  that  I 
would  use  these  methods  so  far  as  they  reach  out  to  public 
observation,  as  healthy  stimulants  to  incite  to  diligent  and 
earnest  industry,  as  a  habit,  and  to  establish  this  and  other 
good  habits  i«  the  life,  in  the  soul  of  every  pupil.  These 
incentives  are  infinitely  more  effective,  when  properly  man- 
aged, than  watching,  scolding,  and  coercion  can  ever  be,  ior 
any  good  purpose  whatever ;  3,  that  young  ladies  are  neces- 
sarily and  properly  feeling  more  and  more  that  they  owe  it 
to  -themselves  to  prepare  to  take  care  of  themselves,  as  so 
large  a  proportion  of  the  talented  young  men  become  hope- 
lessly abandoned — either  in  college  or  out.  The  matrimonial 
prospect  for  good  girls  seems  less  and  less  inviting  ;  so  much 
so,  that  there  is  too  little  hope  in  marrying,  but  to  find  the 
necessity  of  enduring  a  sot  or  a  fool — and  raising  and  sup- 
porting a  family,  in  spite  of  the  incumbrance. 

5.  It  was  my  purpose  to  speak  of  works  of  usefulness  and 
benevolence  in  school — distinctively  as  such,  but  I  shall  defer 
this  topic  to  another  occasion.  It  has,  I  trust,  been  noticed 
however,  that  the  entire  spirit  of  these  Normal  Methods  is 
diametrically  opposed  to  the  selfish,  short-sighted  practices 
of  most  schools,  in  the  working  of  the  few  to  win  honors  and 
prizes,  and  of  the  many  to  avoid  disgrace  and  penalties  ;  and 
that  these  methods  find  their  effectiveness  and  success  in 
appealing  to  the  nobler  feelings  and  better  purposes  of  pupils, 
and  inspiring  them  with  a  true  ambition  to  do  life's  work 
well. 


LECTURE   ON  SCHOOL   MANAGEMEN1 


LECTURE    XII. 

SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT  IN  CLASS  MANAGEMENT. 
A  CLASS  IN  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — As  you  have  seen  and  experienced, 
most  of  you,  in  my  Training  Class,  the  method  of  managing  a 
class  of  younger  pupils,  including  those  who  are  just  able  to 
read  fluently,  and  as  I  have  endeavored,  in  that  drill,  to  put 
in  practice  the  principles  which  underlie  all  really  good  and 
successful  management  of  children  in  school,  I  shall  here  at- 
tempt to  arrange  and  describe  the  same  processes,  and  show  the 
adaptation  of  each  to  the  mental  and  moral  constitution  of  chil- 
dren, and  their  connection  with  the  true  ends  of  school 
management,  viz:  the  formation  of  correct  habits  in -the 
happy  and  efficient  use  and  development  of  their  mental  and 
moral  capabilities ;  not  so  much  for  the  school-room  and  its 
per  cents,  as  for  life,  its  responsibilities  and  rewards.  I  claim 
that  such  ends  ought  to  be  reached  with  more  or  less  cer- 
tainty and  success,  according  to  the  skill  and  faithfulness  of 
the  teacher  whether  in  common  schools  or  in  colleges.  Yet 
we  all  know  that  such  habits  are  seldom  thought  of,  much 
less  worked  for,  by  the  great  majority  of  teachers  in  any  class 
of  institutions. 

As  this  lecture  will  deal  with  numerous  details,  various 
special  arrangements  and  complicated  class  maneuvers  (com- 

135 


136  LECTURE    XIL 

plicated  in  description  but  very  simple  in  evolution),  it  may 
need  some  patience,  as  well  as  continued  attention,  to  follow 
me  and  keep  my  bearings ;  especially  from  those  present  who 
have  not  participated  in  the  exercises  of  the  training  class 
I  trust  I  may  be  able,  however,  to  show  that  these  maneuvers 
and  artifices  are  such  in  their  very  spirit  as  are  calculated  to 
initiate  and  establish  the  good  habits  before  mentioned  in  the 
younger  classes  of  children,  as  the  plans  proposed  in  the  two 
preceding  lectures  were  more  especially  adapted  to  the 
more  advanced  classes  in  common  schools,  and  to  all  classes 
in  academies  and  colleges.  It  will  also  appear,  in  the  course 
of  this  discussion,  if  I  mistake  not,  that  nearly  all  the  usages 
of  our  common  schools,  with  the  younger  children,  now  in 
vogue,  tend  to  fix  habits  of  laziness,  shiftlessness  and  worth- 
lessness,  generally;  and  to  produce  tardiness,  absenteeism 
and  disorder,  hatred  of  study,  aversion  to  school,  love  of  mis- 
chief and  longing  for  holidays  and  vacations,  and  that  these 
evils  are  the  direct  result  of  the  management  pursued. 

In  order  to  make  the  description  intelligible  I  shall  place 
it  under  several  heads,  which,  though  successive  in  descrip- 
tion, are  to  some  extent  simultaneous  in  practice. 

ORGANIZATION  OF   THE   CLASS. 

I  am  supposing  that  you,  as  a  teacher,  are  in  your  school 
for  the  first  time,  and  that  you  do  not  know  the  pupils  by 
their  names, even. 

I.  Then,  first,  take  the  names  of  the  pupils  on  paper,  or  if  the 
class  is  large,  request  some  older  pupil  to  do  so.     When  the 
names  are  written,  call  them  and  determine  the  pupil  that 
answers  to  each  name.     This  list  of  names  may  afterward  be 
transferred  to  your  class  register,  and  you  can  use  it  in  call- 
ing the  names  of  pupils  in  recitation,  until  you  know  them 
all,  thus  avoiding  the  embarrassment  and  disorder  incident  to 
calling  pupils  by  wrong  names. 

II.  Examine  by  concert  exercise  in  counting  in  units,  in 
tens,  in  hundreds,  the  advancement  of  the  class  in  counting* 
The  most  advanced  will  hold  out  the  longest.     Requesting 
these  to  remain  silent,  try  the  rest  of  the  class,  and  so  on  un- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  137 

tiJ  you  ascertain  the  ability  of  every  one.  Furnish  books 
and  slates,  so  far  as  needed.  It  is  generally  best  to  use  the 
books  of  which  there  are  the  most  copies  already  in  the  class. 
Since  it  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  all  the  pupils  have 
books  to  commence  with,  I  should  furnish  the  books  myself, 
and  let  the  children  pay  for  them  afterward.  If  it  is  ob- 
jected that  I  shall  lose  by  it,  I  reply  that  I  shall  gain  more 
in  starting  my  class  right  than  I  can  possibly  lose  in  the  value 
of  the  books.  I  would  furnish  slates  and  pencils,  and  own 
them  myself.  The  patent  slates  are  preferable  to  the  stone 
slates,  for  many  reasons. 

III.  Preliminary  Drill.  Write  the  operation  for  the  first 
example  on  the  blackboard  yourself;  describe  this  operation 
(2-j-l=3)  in  all  its  points.  In  order  to  do  this,it  will  be  well  to 
draw  the  outline  of  a  slate  on  the  blackboard  as  many  times 
larger  than  a  slate  as  your  figures  on  the  blackboard  are 
larger  than  those  to  be  made  on  the  slates.  Then  place  your 
operation  economically  and  evenly  in  the  outline,  and  num- 
ber it,  as  numbered  in  the  book;  direct  the  pupils  to  do  the 
same  on  their  slates  ;  aid  them  to  do  so  till  all  have  succeeded 
passably  well.  Place  the  operation  of  the  second  example  in 
the  outline  on  the  board;  request  the  children  to  copy  it; 
aid  them  again,  if  necessary.  Now  request  the  class  to  write 
the  operation  of  the  third  example  themselves,  directly  from 
the  book;  and  so  on,  till  you  are  sure  that  they  will  all  be 
able  to  work  at  least  a  few  examples  for  the  first  recitation. 
The  lesson  may  now  be  assigned;  and  the  class  having  the 
hour  given  in  the  general  programme  for  studying  this  lesson 
will  be  requested  to  work  at  it  only  during  that  time. 

Reasons  JOT  Studying  Mental  Arithmetic  on  Slates 

1.  It  nelps  the  child  to  be  industrious.  With  proper  pre 
liminary  drill,  children  from  seven  years  of  age  to  ten,  can  be 
so  much  interested  that  they  will  work  out  on  their  slates  the 
simple  solutions  of  these  examples  with  eagerness  and  continu- 
ous application  for  as  long  a  time  as  is  prudent  for  health; 
thus  freeing  the  teacher  from  watching  and  scolding  them  for 
idleness  and  mischief ;  thus  forming  the  habit  of  industry, 


138 


LECTURE   XII. 


and    breaking  up  their  old  habits  of  idleness  and  mischief, 
the  direct  results  of  previous  training. 

2.  We  help  the  child  to  think  by  himself,  independently  of 
his  teacher.     Abstract  thinking  is  difficult  enough  for  adults, 
and  simply  studying  a  book,  and  working  out  examples  men- 
tally with  book  in  hand,  is  next  to  an  impossibility  with  most 
children;  at  least,  it  is  so  repulsive  that  it  takes  frequent  and 
special  stimulants  of  watching,  punishing  or  purchasing,  to 
keep   it  up  for  any  length  of  time.     The  operations  of  the 
fingers,  and  the  attention  of  the  eye  to  the  mechanical  part  ol 
the  work  on  the  slate,  are  aids  to  study  and  diligence  in  con- 
tinuous   application.     Thus    the    habit   of   patient   study   is 
formed,  with  immeasurably  more  certainty  than  by  simply 
studying,  or  pretending  to  study,  on  the  wliizza  wliizza  plan? 
or  in  any  object-lesson  drills  that  I  have  ever  known  prac- 
ticed.    In  fact,  object-lesson   teaching  subverts  all  true  and 
independent  study  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  and  throws  tho 
labor  on  the  teacher. 

3.  It  gives  the  teacher  opportunity  to  encourage  the  dull 
and  slow  for  their  industry,  at  least;  rather  than  to  stimulate 
the  quick  and  mischievous  in  their  mischief,  by  approving  of 
their  correct  recitations,  when  they  have  scarcely  looked  at 
their  lessons  during  the  study  hour. 

4.  It  helps  the  child  in  learning  to  write.     The  younger 
members  may  have  to  print  their  letters  at  first,  but  very 
soon  they  learn  the  script  hand,  especially  if  they  are  per- 
mitted to  write  from  copies  with  the  rest  of  the  school. 

5.  It  helps  the  child  to  learn  how  to  spell,  capitalize  and 
punctuate. 

6.  It  is  the  beginning  of  composition  writing,  as  wo  shall 
see  from  the  fuller  development  of  the  plan. 

7.  It  helps  the  teacher  to  make  the  school  attractive    O.T 
this  class  of  children  by  furnishing  them  something  useful  to 
do,  that  they  will  like  to  do.     The  teacher  is  thus  spared  the 
necessity  of  watching  and  scolding,  threatening  and  punish- 
ing.    He  is  not  pronounced  a  "cross  old  teacher,"  but  "a  real 
pleasant  teacher." 

Objection.     If  it  is  objected  that  this  kind  of  study  on  slates 


SCHOOL,    MANAGEMENT. 

or  paper,  is  written  arithmetic,  not  mental;  I  reply  that  by 
this  method,  immensely  more  independent  mental  activity 
and  mental  power  are  evoked  than  ever  can  be  by  the  stick- 
lers for  the  whizza  whizza  method  of  studying1,  or  by  the 
object-lesson  method  of  not  studying.  The  drill  in  the  reci- 
tation, in  giving  some  new  example  for  solution,  in  calling 
for  better  solutions  of  questions,  is  the  means  by  which 
ready  apprehension,  tenacious  grasp,  and  close  reasoning  are 
obtained. 

Remark.  Many  teachers  permit  their  pupils  to  recite 
with  book  in  hand.  This  is  not  even  written  arithmetic,  it  is 
printed  arithmetic;  rather,  it  is  more  laziness  than  arithme- 
tic of  any  kind,  both  on  the  part  of  teacher  and  pupil. 

ORDER    OF    PROCEDURE    IN    RECITATION. 

1.  Examine    work  on  slates    or  papers.     This  is  done    by- 
passing around  the  class,  or  by  gathering  all    the  slates  and 
papers,  and  examining  them  by  calling  the  pupil,  it'  necessary, 
from  the  recitation  seat  to  the  desk  to  look  over  his  own  slate 
or  paper,  while  under  examination.     It  is  generally  better  to 
pass  around  the  class. 

2.  Deposit  slates   and    books.     These  may  be  laid  on   the 
floor,  it'  no  better  place  can  be  found,  by  five  words  of  direc- 
tion to  the  class:  (1.)  Rise  ;  (  2.)  Forward  one  step  ;  ( 3.)  De- 
posit books  on  slates;  (4.)  Back;  (5.)  Be  Seated. 

3.  Drill  the  class  on  the  examples  of  the  lesson  by  mental 
solutions  of  some  questions  in  the  lesson,  and  with  some  not 
in  the  lesson. 

METHOD    OF  DRILL. 

(1.)  Read  an  example  for  the  whole  class  to  solve  mentally. 
(2.)  Request  each  pupil  to  raise  his  hand  as  soon  as  he  has 
solved  the  example.  When  nearly  all  hands  have  been  raised, 
ask  :  (3.)  li  How  many  have  the  result?"  Hands  of  all  who 
have  succeeded  are  again  raised.  ,  (4.)  "  John,  you  may  give 
the  result."  John  gives  the  result.  (5. )  "  How  many  have  a 
different  result?"  Samuel  raises  his  hand.  (6.)  "  Samuei, 
what  is  your  result?  "  He  gives  it.  (  7. )  "  How  many 


140  LECTURE   XII. 

with  Samuel?"  Hands  are  raised,  possibly.  "How  many 
agree  with  John  ? "  Possibly  no  hands  are  raised.  (8.)  "Mary, 
you  may  give  the  solution." 

If  this  is  the  first  recitation  Mary  will  not  know  what  I 
mean  by  a  solution,  and  she  will  give  the  result.  Here  then 
comes  the  fourth  operation  of  the  class  procedure,  and  al- 
ways the  most  important  of  all. 

4.  Preliminary  D/  ill  for  Next  Recitation. — In  this  case 
the  children  will  be  made  familiar  with  the  four-step  method 
of  solution.  These  steps  are:  (1.)  The  Question;  (2.)  The 
Theory;  (3.)  The  Process ;  (4.)  The  Conclusion 

The  names  of  these  steps  may  be  written  on  the  black- 
board to  aid  the  pupil,  somewhat;  but  with  a  beginning  class 
it  will  be  necessary  for  a  teacher  to  give  a  solution  himself, 
and  request  some  pupil  to  give  the  same  solution  of  the  same 
question;  then  some  other  to  give  the  same,  till  the  formulae 
of  the  c-teps  are  mastered.  To  make  these  steps  intelligible 
to  any  teachers  present,  who  are  not  already  familiar  with 
them,  I  will  give  an  example  in  addition.  The  pupil  gives 
the  steps  thus,  in  the  solution  of  this  example,  supposed  to 
have  been  read  by  the  teacher  from  the  lesson  assigned. 

(  Question.) 

Pupil. — 1.  Seven  and  five  are  how  many 
(Theory.) 

2.  As  many  as  the  sum  o,  seven  and  five, 

(Process.) 

3.  Which  is  twelve. 

(  Conclusion.) 

4.  Therefore,   seven  and  five  are  twelve. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  in  a  class  will  master  the 
steps  of  this  solution  at  once.  Some  days  will  pass,  possibly, 
before  this  will  be  accomplished. 

I  will  here  give  several  solutions  of  different  examples, 
to  show  how  clearness  of  thought  and  accuracy  of  expres- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


141 


sion  may  be  attained  by  children  in  this  study,  if  the  teacher 
is  clear-headed  and  accurate  himself. 

I  will  take  the  concrete  example : 

If  Henry  gave  5  cents  for  an  orange  and  2  cents  for  a 
lemon,  what  did  he  give  for  both? 

1.  Correct. 

3d  Step.  As   many  cents  as  the  sum  of  5  and  2, 
3d  Step.  Which  is  7. 

2.  Correct. 

%d  Step.  As  much  as  the  sum  of  5  cents  and  2   cents, 
3 d  Step.  Which  is  7  cents. 

1.  Incorrect. 

2d  Step.  As  much  as  the  sum  of  5  and  2. 
Criticism.  5  and  2  are  not  much,  they  are  many. 

2.  Incorrect. 

Zd  Step.  As  many  as  the  sum  of  5  cents  and  2  cents,  which* 
are  7  cents.  Criticism.  5  cents  and  2  cents  are  not  many, 
they  are  much,  and  the  word,  sum,  the  antecedent  of  which,  is 
singular. 

Thus  the  pupil  should  be  taught  to  distinguish  in-  hi&  lan- 
guage between  much  and  many ;  rather,  between  magnitude 
and  multitude;  also  to  notice  the  plainest  syntactical  agree- 
ments. These  are  only  given  as  examples  of  one  or  two  of 
the  points  in  accurate  thought  and  correct  expression. 

The  last  process  for  the  teacher  in  the  solution  of  a  ques- 
tion by  the  class,  is  to  call  on  the  class  for  criticisms  on  the 
solution  as  given  by  the  pupil. 

Any  pupils  who  have  criticisms  to  offer,  can  raise  the  hand; 
and  the  teacher  receives  the  criticisms  in  order,  and  decides, 
or  calls  on  the  class  to  decide  by  vote,  on  the  propriety  ot  the 
criticism.  He  finally,  in  every  case,  gives  his  own  decision* 

Points  of  Criticism. 

1.  Mathematical  accuracy. 

2.  Grammatical  correctness. 

3.  Rhetorical  beauty. 

4.  Logical  coherency. 


142  LECTUKE     XII 


• 


While  these  lerms  need  not  be  used  witn  a  class  of'  chil- 
dren, violations  of  any  one  of  these  principles  may  be  clearly 
shown  to  any  class,  and  their  wits  sharpened  by  mutual  crit- 
icism, so  that  they  will  readily  detect  any  errors,  under  any 
head. 

Faults  to  le  Avoided  ~by  the  Teacher. 

1.  Want  of  order  and  of  certainty  in  class  management. 

2.  Routine,  such  as  enables  any  pupil  to  judge  he  will  not 
be  called  on,  at  any  moment. 

3.  Talk,  talk,  talk. 

4.  Scolding,  snubbing,  repressing,  discouraging. 

5.  Overlooking  or  neglecting  any  slow  or  backward  pupil. 

6.  Failure  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to  give  his  decision 
on  any  point  of  criticism,  or  in  case  of  difference  of  opinion 
in  the  class. 

Remark.  —  In  any  case  in  which  the  teacher  feels  unpre- 
pared to  give  an  opinion  at  the  time,  he  will  do  wrell  to  lay 
it  over  for  investigation.  Then  he  must  be  sure  to  bring  it 
up  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  recitation,  or  it  will  be  for- 
gotten, and  the  class  will  lose  confidence,  both  in  his  ability 
and  in  his  honesty. 

7.  Want  of  interest  in  the  class,  or  in  the  study.     Every 
class  and  every  branch  must  arouse  every  faculty  and  every 
energy.     In  short,   the  teacher  must  do  his  very  best  every 
time  ;  and  every  time  excel  his  own  efforts  in  any  previous 
recitation,  not  in  the  exhibition  of  his  own  powers  and  gifts, 
especially  the  gift  of  gab,  but   in  interesting  the  laziest,  or 
most  mischievous,  or  -most  stubborn  and  sulky  pupil;  not  by 
'doing  his  work  for  him,  but  by  giving  every  such  pupil  such 
work  to  do  as  he  will  be  interested  in,  as  will  draw  out  his 
powers  and  as  will  merit  the  teacher's  approbation  and  good 
will.     Fault-finding,  scolding  and   punishing  will  make  bad 
scholars  out  of  good  ;  but  will  never  make  good  scholars  out 
of  bad  ones. 

PARTIALITY  MUST  BE  USED,  not  to  good  scholars,  not  to  smart 
scholars,  not  to  attractive  scholars  ;  but  to  vicious  pupils,  dull 
pupils,  repulsive  pupils.  How  ?  By  kindly  keeping  them 
occupied  and  interested,  and  bestowing  on  them  a  cordial 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  143 

attention  inversely  as  they  seem  disposed  to  give  attention 
to  their  duties  and  privileges.  This  course  is  better  than 
returning  evil  for  evil,  in  any  manner  that  you  can  devise. 
It  will  win,  sooner  or  later.  The  other  brings  defeat,  both 
sooner  and  later. 

THE  STANDING  OF   EVERY  PUPIL,  IN  EVERY    RECITATION,  MUST  BE 

RECORDED.  This  may  be  done  in  the  general  register,  but  bet- 
ter in  a  class  register,  in  which  every  class  is  enrolled  by 
itself;  and  in  this  the  grade  of  every  pupil  should  be  recorded 
daily.  Some  pupils  may  be  graded  more  particularly  for  in- 
dustry, some  for  skill,  some  for  independent  effort,  some  for 
neatness  and  propriety ;  but  each  pupil  should  know  for  what 
he  is  graded,  and  that  his  grade  is  so  given  for  his  encourage- 
ment, where  he  most  needs  it.  Again,  it  may  be  well  to  grade 
the  whole  class,  sometimes  on  some  special  object,  in  which 
you  wish  to  excite  special  interest;  as  neatness  of  work  on 
date  or  paper,  or  accuracy  of  verbal  solution  during  recita- 
tion. 

GENERAL    APPLICATION. 

The  processes  described  thus  far  in  this  lecture  can,  with 
suitable  modifications,  be  applied  to  the  management  of  any 
class  in  any  branch,  from  a  class  in  the  alphabet  to  a  class 
in  civil  engineering  or  metaphysics  as  you  have  all  witnessed. 
i  suppose,  in  the  various  classes  in  daily  operation  in  this  in- 
stitution. I  have  taken  mental  arithmetic  as  being  the  sub- 
ject, perhaps,  most  generally  worst  abused,  and  that  in  which 
I  think  it  requires  as  much  skill  to  arouse  and  sustain  interest 
and  self-propelling  industry,  as  in  any  other. 

I  have  likewise  taken  this  particular  subject  through 
which  to  develop  the  normal  plan  of  class  management,  as  it 
could  hardly  have  been  done  abstractly,  that  is,  without  con- 
creting it  in  some  particular  branch  and  class. 

Though,  as  I  forewarned  you  at  the  commencement  of  the 
lecture,  the  description  of  the  various  processes  i??  perhaps, 
complicated  and  tedious,  the  working  of  the  plan  is  simple, 
effective  and  certain,  when  conducted  with  any  kind  of  skill, 


144  LECTURE  xn. 

or  with  any  proper  degree  of  enthusiasm,  and  yet  in   the 
spirit  of  kindness  and  sympathy. 

OBJECTS  TO   BE    AIMED   AT. 

The  objects  to  be  aimed  at  constantly  in  the  management 
of  every  class,  whether  in  mental  arithmetic  or  in  any  other 
branch,!  shall  discuss  under  the  following  heads :  I.  Imme 
liate  ;  II.  Mediate  ;  III.  Ultimate. 

I.  Immediate  objects  to  be  aimed  at  in  class  management. 

1.  Attention  of  all  the  class  all  the  time  during  recita- 
tion. Not  merely  the  attention  of  the  best  pupils,  but  of  the 
dullest  and  worst,  is  the  object,  first,  last  and  always  during  a 
recitation. 

The  plan  of  hearing  a  class  recite  from  head  to  foot,  or  in 
any  course  of  rotation,  is  abominable.  It  is  making  a  reptile 
of  a  class.  While  you  are  at  work  with  the  head,  the  body  is 
squirming  and  the  tail  is  wriggling  and  twisting,  ready  to 
sting  you;  but  while  you  are  at  work  with  the  tail,  the  head 
is,  most  probably,  ready  to  strike  you  with  its  fangs.  Do 
away  with  the  head  and  tail  arrangements.  Let  the  class  be 
\  body  with  a  soul,  yourself  the  spirit,  every  part  and  mem- 
ber inspired  by  your  energy  and  enthusiasm.  If  any  member 
lacks  animation,  kindly  address  yourself  to  enliven  it ;  if  any 
member  is  excited,  what  other  member  does  not  always  sym- 
pathize with  it?  So  hold  your  class,  teacher,  that  every  pupil 
feels  himself  a  participator  in  every  operation  either  as  oper- 
ative or  critic,  ready  and  anxious  to  be  called  on,  eager  to 
perform  his  or  her  part. 

If  it  is  found  that  the  solution  of  a  problem  or  the  perform- 
ance of  any  other  duty  assigned  to  one  pupil  is  so  long  that 
some  member  of  the  class  loses  his  interest  and  falls  into  in- 
attention or  mischief,  the  pupil  who  is  reciting  can  be  ex- 
cused, and  that  inattentive  pupil  called  on  to  perform  the  re- 
mainder of  the  work  especially  in  hand.  But ''if  criticism 
(not  of  the  pupil,  but  by  the  pupils,)  is  managed  properly, 
this  will  seldom  be  necessary  or  desirable.  If  any  pupil  fails 
in  the  exercise  assigned  him,  always  give  him  an  opportunity 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  145 

to  retrieve  ms  cnaracter,  by  affording  him  another  opportu- 
nity on  another  question  or  exercise,  before  the  recitation 
closes. 

2.  Interested,  earnest  study  in  preparation  for  the  reci- 
tation. 

This,  of  course,  will  depend  on  class  management,  while 
in  recitation ;  and  any  class  management  which  does  not  ot 
itself  secure  it,  is  essentially  wrong.  In  the  preliminary 
drill,  which  is  really  the  most  important  part  of  teaching, 
there  must  be  enough  of  explanation  of  the  next  lesson,  to 
awaken  curiosity,  to  arouse  ambition,  to  excite  emulation  ; 
and  yet  labor  and  difficulty  enough  must  be  left  to  be  per- 
formed and  overcome  to  employ  the  study-time  fully,  and  tax 
the  energies  adequately  ;  otherwise  discouragement  will  de- 
ter some  from  effort,  or  want  of  employment  will  almost 
force  others  into  mischief  and  disorder,  in  their  study  seats. 

The  writing  method  of  study,  before  described,  answers  a 
better  purpose  for  securing  diligent  and  equal  study  from 
every  pupil  than  any  other  that  I  have  ever  known  tried. 
If  the  class  is  very  unequal;  it  may  be  divided  into  two  sec- 
tions, and  a  part  of  the  lesson,  comprising  the  more  simple 
problems,  may  be  given  to  the  first  section.  "Where,  in  any 
case,  this  division  of  the  lesson  is  impracticable,  the  more 
advanced  section  can  work  examples  in  some  more  advanced 
portion  of  the  text  book,  or  examples  which  you  can  give  on 
the  blackboard,  to  occupy  their  time,  and  to  stimulate  their 
ambition. 

Caution. — I  may  say  here,  in  connection  with  tnese  first 
two  immediate  objects  of  the  teacher's  class  work,  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  communication  between  pupils,  either  on  recita- 
tion seats  or  on  study  seats,  should  be  entirely  precluded  ; 
and  there  can  be  very  little  hope  of  true  success  in  the  at- 
tainment of  either  object,  if  communication  is  tolerated  in 
any  of  the  ten  thousand  forms  in  which  it  can  be  practised. 
In  a  subsequent  lecture  on  school  discipline,  I  shall  show 
how  whispering,  and  other  forms  of  communication  may  best 
be  prevented. 
10 


14(5  LECTURE    XII. 

.  3.  Self-reliance  in  continued  speech. — The  common 
method  of  recitation,  that  of  requiring  memoriter  answers  to 
definite  questions,  or  the  monosyllabic  answers,  yes  or  no,  to 
direct  questions,  is  the  very  means  to  train  the  pupil  to  feeble- 
ueps  of  thought  and  utter  inability  to  express  any  consecu- 
t've  ideas  on  any  worthy  subject;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
so  few  persons  are  able  to  converse  with  any  degree  of  satis- 
faction to  themselves  or  others  on  subjects  they  have  studied 
at  school,  or  any  other  subject  except  the  latest  case  of  scan- 
dal, gossip  or  tattle  afloat.  This  is  the  direct  result  of  the 
prevalent  method  of  conducting  recitations  in  nearly  all 
schools,  seminaries,  and  colleges  of  the  present  time. 

Mental  arithmetic  is  as  little  favorable  to  the  cultivation 
of  coherent  expression,  of  independent  thought  as  any  branch, 
and  yet  this  always  ought  to  be  kept  in  view.  The  four-step 
method,  although  a  series  of  verbal  formulae  is  still  suscep- 
tible of  such  variations  ;  and,  in  fact,  often  demands  such 
variations  as  may  aid  young  pupils  very  much  in  this  self 
reliance,  in  the  clear,  accurate,  coherent  deliverance  of  criti- 
cal, incisive  thought.  But  success  here  will  depend  on  the 
interest  aroused  in  mutual  criticism. 

DIRECTION. — It  is  necessary  that  the  pupil  rise  in  his  plact 
and  stand  while  he  recites 

Reasons  for  standing  in  recitation :  (1.)  It  cultivates  self- 
reliance.  (2.)  The  class  can  hear  better,  and  the  class  interest 
is  better  sustained.  (3.)  It  prevents  "  looking  on  the  book" 
while  reciting,  and  prompting  from  other  pupils. 

4.  Quickness  of  apprehension   and  grasp  of  memory. — 
To  this  end  the  teacher  should  read  or  speak  the   question 
but  once,  and  so  cut  off  the  carelessness  and  mental  feeble- 
ness resulting  from  the  practice  of  giving  a  problem  several 
times 

Caution. — Permit  no  pupil  to  use  his  book  in  recitation, 
save  in  preliminary  drill  for  next  recitation. 

5.  Power   of    analysis. — This   implies    sharp,    thorough 
critical,  energetic  thought,  just  such  thought  as  constitutes 
business  tact,  and  professional  skill  in  any  direction.     If  this 
power  is  kept  constantly  in  view,  in  every  exercise  of  solu- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  147 

tion  or  criticism,  it  will  surely  be  more  likely  to  be  attained 
than  if  never  thought  of,  as  is  too  geneially  the  case,  with 
most  teachers. 

6.  Mathematical  skill. — That  which  is  generally  thought 
to  be  the   only  object  in  the  study  of  mental  arithmetic,  I 
will  not  entirely  ignore.     It  will  surely  be  acquired  if  the 
other  objects  are  attained. 

7.  Orderly  self -management. — Without  this  as  an  imme- 
diate and  constant   object  of  class   training,    all  others    are 
comparatively  futile.     Parliamentary  rule,  in  a  very  simple 
form,  should  be  maintained  in  every  recitation,  and  in   the 
management  of  the-  whole  school,  also.     The  teacher  is  the 
chairman;  the  class,  the  "  assembly."     All  pupils  must   ad- 
dress "  the   chairman,"  though  not  by  this  formal  title;  and 
never  address  each  other.    No  member  rnay  address  the  chair- 
man without  his  permission,  as  having  "  obtained  the  floor." 
The  pupil  obtains  permission  by  raising  the  hand.     In  most 
cases  the  member  occupying  the  floor  will  stand  while  speak- 
ing.    In  order  to  secure  attention  of  all  the  class,  all  prob- 
lems and   definite   questions  must  first  be  addressed  by  the 
teacher  to  the  class,  when  those  prepared  to  answer  will  raise 
the  hand;  thus  indicating  a  desire  uto  speak  to  the  question," 
in  other  words,  to  give  the  "result"  which  the  question  de- 
mands ;  or  the   solution,   or  a  criticism,  as  the  case  may  be. 
This  formality  may  seem,  at  first,  as  tending  to  retard  pro- 
gress, but  with  any  skill  on  the  part  of  the  chairman,  it  "facili- 
tates business,"  just  as   much  as  in  any  other  constituted  as- 
sembly. 

Orderly  self  management,  in  study  Jiours,  is  also  to  be 
provided  for  in  class  recitation  as  well  as  in  the  general 
school  programme. 

IT.  Mediate  Objects. 

These  were  given  in  order,  and  somewhat  at  length, 
in  the  two  previous  lectures.  It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to 
dwell  here.  The  same  considerations  which  hold  in  one 
branch,  for  the  formation  oj  correct  school  habits,  surely 
must  hold  in  all,  or  the  work  of  on*}  recitation  would  neutral 


148  LECTURE   XII. 

ize  the  work  of  another  in  this  regard.     I  will  merely  leca- 
pitulate  the  mediate  objects  as  before  discussed. 

1.  Love  of  work.  2.  Thoroughness.  3.  Promptness  and 
order.  4.  Utilization,  or  making  connection  constantly  be- 
tween book  knowledge  and  life's  labors,  implements  and 
utilities;  nature's  phenomena,  machinery  and  laws,  as  ex- 
perienced and  observed  by  the  pupil  himself.  These,  all,  are 
object-lessons  of  some  force,  which  the  drivelling  object- 
lesson  teaching,  so  called,  seems  almost  entirely  Ic  neglect 
or  ignore  in  its  meager,  one-sided  view  of  isolated  objects, 
and  their  individual  properties. 

III.    Ultimate    Objects 

No  class  of  children  is  so  immature  that  each  pupil  in  it  is 
not  preparing,  in  each  recitation,  ill  or  well,  for  life's  work,  for 
eternity's  destiny.  How  seldom,  teachers,  is  this,  appa- 
rently, thought  of  in  the  school-room  work.  I  shall  here 
simply  enumerate  the  objects,  which  I  denominate  ultimate, 
because  they  are  ends  desirable  in  tJiemselves',  demanding  the 
most  earnest  consideration,  and  most  unremitting  effort*,  on 
the  part  of  every  teacher  and  every  pupil,  every  day  in 
every  recitation : 

1.  Success  in  business ;  2.  Position  in  society;  3.  Useful- 
ness in  life,  involving,  (1.)  the  approbation  of  one's  own  con- 
science: (2.)  the  approbation  of  all  good  men;  (3.)  the  ap- 
probation of  God,  the  supreme  end  of  all  action  and  aspi- 
ration. 

MODEL  SOLUTIONS  IN  MENTAL  ABITHMETIC. 

I  shall  close  this  lecture  by  giving  several  solutions,  and 
several  different  methods  of  solution  required  by  different 
classes  of  examples.  The  written  forms  of  solution  to  which 
a  class  will  be  trained  are  those  ordinarily  given  in  practi- 
cal or  written  arithmetic. 

Examples  of  verbal  solutions  in  addition  have  already 
been  given. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 
Model  Solution  in  Subtraction— Abstract  Example 

TEACHER.— 4  less  2  are  how  many  ? 
Solution  by  the  pupil  during  recitation 
(1st  step,  Question.) 
pDPIL. — 4  less  2  are  how  many? 
(2dstep,  Theory.) 

As  many  as  the  difference  between  4  and  2, 
3d  step,  Process.) 
Which  is  2. 
(4th  step,    Conclusion.) 
Therefore,  4  less  2  are  2 

Model  Solution  in  Subtraction— Concrete  Example. 

(1st  step,   Question.) 

PUPIL. — If  James  had  6  cents  and  spent  2  how  many  had  he  then? 

(2dstep,   Theory.) 

As  many  cents  as  the  difference  between  6  and  2, 

(3d  step,  Process.) 

Which  is  4. 

(4th  step,    Conclusion.) 

Therefore,  if  James  had  6  cents  and  spent  2,  he  then  had  4 

Errors  likely  to  be  Made  in  the  Solution 

1.  Repeating  the  first  step  in  the  second.  Redundancy.     2.  Repeating  the  word 
cents  in  the  second,  thus  : 

As  many  cents  as  the  difference  between  G  cents  and  2  cents.    Tautology 

3.  Giving  the  plural  verb  are,  in  3d  step.     The  antecedent  of  which,  difference, 
IB  singular. 

4.  Giving  a  part  of  the  3d  step  ir.  the  4th,  and  using  wrong  auxiliary  verb;  thus : 
Therefore,  if  James  had  6  cents  and  spent  2,  he  would  have  as  much  as   the  dif- 
ference of  2  and  G,  which  are  4. 

Compare  this  expression,  in  italics,  with  the  model:  there  are  six  errors  in  it 

Model  Solution  in  Multiplication— Abstract  Example. 

PUPIL. — 4  times  5  are  how  many? 
As  many  as  the  product  of  5  by  4 
Which  is  20. 
f  herefore,  4  times  5  are  20. 

Model  Solutions  in  Multiplication — Concrete  Ez-  tmples. 

Solution  First —  Correct. 

PCPIL. — At  10  cents  each,  what  will  2  lead-oencils  cost? 
As  many  cents  as  the  product  of  .10  by  2, 
Which  is  20. 
Therefore,  at  10  cents  each  2  lead-pencils  will  cost  20  cents 


150  LECTURE   XII. 

Errors. 

1.  Repeating  the  first  step  in  the  second.  Redundancy.  2.  Repealing  the  word  cents 
in  second  step,  thus: 

As  many  cents  as  the  product  of  10  cents  by  2.     Tautology 

3.  Using  plural  vero  are  in  third  step.     The  antecedent  of  whith  is  product* 

4.  Repeating  the  second  step  or  a  part  of  it  in  fourth  step. 

Solution   Second —  Correct. 

Pupil. — At  10  cents  apiece  what  will  2  lead-pencils  cost? 

As  much  as  the  product  of  10  cents  by  2, 

Which  is  20  cents. 

Therefore,  at  10  cents  apiece  2  lead-pencils  will  cost  20  cents. 

Errors. 

2.  As  much  as  the  product  of  10  by  2,  which  is  20  cencs. 

As  much  as  the  product  of  2  by  10  (or  10  cents)  which  is  20  cents. 

Analysis, 

Definition.  Analysis  in  Mathematics  is  any  method  of  reasoning  by  means  of  a 
nuit  value,  known  or  unknown. 

Solution  Third,  Analytic— Correct. 

PUPIL. — What  will  2  lead-pencils  cost  at  10  cents  apiece? 

If  one  lead-pencil  costs  10  cents,  2  lead-pencils  will  cost  twice  10  cents, 

Which  are  20  cents. 

Therefore,  2  lead-oencils  will  cost  20  cents,  at  10  cents  aoiece. 

Model  Solutions  in    Division- Abstract  Example. 

PUPIL. — 12  are  how  mai-y  times  2? 

As  many  times  2  as  the  quotient  of  12  by  2, 

Which  is  6. 

Therefore,  12  are  6  times  2. 

Model  Solutions  in  Division— Concrete  Examples. 

Solution  First —  vorreo* 

PUPIL. — At  10  cents  apiece  how  many  oranges  can  be  bought  for  20  cents  ? 

As  many  as  the  quotient  of  20  by  10 

Which  is  2. 

Therefore,  at  10  cent?  apiece  2  oranges  can  be  bought  for  20  cents. 

Solution  Second —  Correct 

UPIL. — .now  many  oranges  at  10  cents  each  can  be  bought  for  20  cents? 
As  many  as  10  cents  are  contained  times  in  20  cents, 
Which  are  twice, 
Therefore,  2  oranges,  at  10  cents  each,  can  be  bought  for  20  cents. 

Solution  Third)  Analytic — Correct 
PUPIL. — At  2  cents  each  how  manv  apples  can  be  bought  for  10  cents  ? 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  151 

If  1  apple  costs  2  cents  as  many  apples  can  be  bought  for  10  cents  aa  2  are  con- 
tained times  in  10, 
Which  are  5  times. 
Therefore,  at  2  cents  each  5  apples  can  be  bought  for  10  cents 

Model  Solutions  in  Complex  questions,  Involving  Multiplica- 
tion and  Division. 

* 

(1st    Step,   Question.) 
PUPIL. — If  3  slates  cost  30  cents  what  will  12  cost? 

(2d  Step,  Analysis,  Separation,  or  reasoning  from  many  to  one.) 
If  3  slates  cost  30  cents  1  slate  costs  %  of  30  cents  which  is  10  cents. 
(3d  Step,  Synthesis,  Combination,  or  reasoning  from  one  to  many.) 

If  1  slate  costs  10  cents  12  slates  cost  12  times  10  centri,  which  are  120  cents,  or 
the  dollar  and  twenty  cents. 

(4th  Step,    Conclusion.) 

Therefore,  if  3  slates  cost  30  cents  12  slates  will  cost  one  dollar  and  twenty 

SHORTER  ANALYSIS,  (BY   CANCELLATION') 

• 

jfrodel  Solution  of  a  Compound    Complex  Example. 

(1st  Step,  Question.) 

UPIL. — If  45  men  m  8  weeks,  working  5)^  days  per  week,  and  10  hours  per 
day,  build  a  road  3j^  miles  long,  and  4  rods  wide,  how  many  weeks  will  63  men 
require,  working  4)^  days  per  week  and  11  hours  per  day,  to  build  a  road  12%  mites 
long  and  3  rods  wide? 

(2d  Step,  Analysis.) 

8  weeks  is  the  base  term,  because  it  is  the  same  kind  as  required  in  the  answer. 
If  45  men  require  8  weeks,  1  man  will  require  more;  hence  multiply  8  weeks  by  45: 
if  5)^  days  require  8  weeks,  1  day  will  require  more;  hence  multiply  by  5j^:  if  10 
hours  require  8  weeks,  1  hour  will  require  more;  hence  multiply  by  10:  if  3%  miles 
require  8  weeks,  1  mile  will  require  less;  hence  divide  by  3j^:  if  4  rods  require  8 
weeks,  1  rod  will  require  less;  hence  divide  by  4.  This  resulting  compound  fraction: 

8w.X45X5iXlO 
3^X4 

gives  the  number  of  \veeks  required  by  1  man,  working  1  day  per  week,  1  hour  per 
day,  to  build  1  mile  of  road,  1  rod  wide. 

3d  Step,  Synthesis.) 

If  1  man  require  the  number  of  weeks  expressed  by  this  fraction,  63  men  will 
require  less;  hence  divide:  if  one  day  require  the  number  of  weeks  expressed,  etc., 
4}^  days  will  require  less;  hence  divide:  if  1  hour  require  the  number  of  weeks,  etc., 


152  LECTURE   XII. 

11  hours  will  require  less;  hence  divide:  if  1  mile  require  the  number  of  weeka 
etc.,  l'±%  miles  will  require  more;  hence  multiply:  if  1  rod  require,  etc.,  3  rods 
will  require  more;  hence  multiply.  Placing  each  of  these  multipliers  above  and  di- 
visors below  the  vinculum  of  the  fraction  resulting  fiom  the  analysis  before  giveu. 
it  becomes, 

8wX*5X5frX10+12|X3    7,600  weeks 

3JX4X63X41-XU          ~  441  L7*«  * 

* 

The  pupil  using  the  blackboard  should  place  each  num- 
ber in  the  numerator,  or  denominator,  as  he  determines  it  by 
his  reasoning  to  be  a  multiplier  or  a  divisor.  If  it  is  objec- 
ted that  examples  of  this  kind  involve  written  arithmetic,  I 
reply  as  before,  that  I  am  more  anxious  to  make  clear  and  ac- 
curate reasoners  of  my  pupils,  than  I  am  to  keep  them  in 
mental  arithmetic  exclusively.  There  is  110  particular  sanctity 
in  mental  arithmetic.  In  fact,  that  course  is  the  best  in  men- 
tal arithmetic,  which  will  best  train  the  mind;  not  that  which 
most  rigidly  carries  the  pupil  in  some  thoroughly  worn  rut. 

In  questions  involving  unknown  quantities,  1  have  found 
that  the.  introduction  of  a  simple  symbol  for  the  unKnown 
quantity  aids  and  encourages  the  pupil  very  much  in  study- 
ing his  lessons  ;  thus : 

Example.  A  horse  cost  4  times  as  much  as  a  cow  and 
$5  more ;  the  cow  cost  10  times  as  much  as  a  sheep;  and  the 
horse,  cow  and  5  sheep  together  cost  $170.  What  was  the 
cost  of  each  animal  ? 

Written  statement.  Let  the  unknown  quantity,  the  price 
of  a  sheep,  be  represented  by  0,  and  let  this  symbol  be 
called  the  unknown  quantity,  or  the  unknown  unit  of  the  ex- 
ample- 

Q  —Price  of  a  sheep. 

®-f  @4  ®-H$5=$170,  by  the  conditions  of  the  qu-idtioa. 

@-f$5=$170,  by  adding  terms. 

@  —$!(>•>  by  subtracting  $5  from  both  members. 
(^)  =$3~ the  price  of  a  sheep. 

The  verification  should  also  be  worked  out  by  the  pupil 
thus : 

©  ~i    ©  -f  ©  -f-$5— $170  ;  statement. 
$1 5+$30+$  1 20-f$5=$l  70  verification . 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  153 

The  distinct  steps  in  this  solution  for  the  pupil  at  his  study 
seat  with  which  he  should  be  made  familiar  in  the  prelimi- 
nary drill,  are :  1.  Determine  which  unknown  quantity  you 
will  use  as  the  unknown  quantity.  2.  From  the  conditions 
of  the  question  find  two  equal  values,  or  two  expressions  for 
the  same  value,  one  of  which,  at  least,  must  contain  the  un- 
known quantity.  The  statement  is  then  made  with  the  use 
of  the  unknown  symbol  and  the  signs.  3.  By  adding  or  sub- 
tracting equals,  or  by  multiplying  or  dividing  by  equals  deter- 
mine the  value  of  the  unknown  quantity,  or  unit.  4  Verify  by 
substituting  the  value  of  the  unknown  quantity  in  the  original 
statement.  If  any  teacher  prefers  to  use  x,  the  algebraic 
symbol,  he  will  only  find  it  somewhat  more  puzzling  to  the 
child  than  the  symbol  I  have  proposed,  while  no  particular 
advantage  is  gained.  If  any  one  objects,  "this  is  teaching 
algebra,  and  not  mental  arithmetic,"  I  reply  that  I  am  much 
more  solicitous  that  my  pupils  learn  to  study  with  zeal  and 
interest,  and  form  good  habits,  than  I  am  to  have  them 
pursue  any  prescribed  course  of  study,  whatever;  and  es- 
pecially any  such  course  as  I  find  is  discouraging  to  the  ma- 
jority of  a  class,  and. thus  tends  to  laziness  and  continued 
failure,  hatred  of  study,  and  of  school. 

The  spirit  of  EAGER  INDUSTRY  must  be  fostered  and  sustained 
whatever  else  may  have  to  yield.  There  can  be  no  genuine 
THOROUGHNESS  in  a  discouraged,  lazy  class;  no  METHODIC  ACTIV- 
ITY, no  spirit  of  UTILIZING  THRIFT;  and  just  these  are  the  HABITS 
which  distinguish  every  successful  and  useful  man,  in  every 
department  of  life,  and  make  him  such.  I  will  add  here,  that 
in  the  recitations  of  any  examples  in  mental  arithmetic,  I 
would  have  no  book  used  by  the  pupil,  nor  slate,  but  would 
have  the  pupil  give  a  verbal  solution,  bringing  into  use,  of 
course,  the  study  bestowed  on  the  solution  previously  accom- 
olished  on  the  slate. 

It  will  be  well  in  the  PRELIMINARY  DRILLS  for  verbal  solu- 
tions in  the  four-step  method,  to  require  the  whole  class,  from 
the  first  drill,  to  write  out  on  their  slates  the  verbal  solution 
of  the  same  examples.  Then,  in  criticising  these  written,  ver- 


154 

bal  solutions   three   additional  points  will  be  noi.cea,  viz« 

5.  Spelling. 

6.  Capitalizing. 

7.  Punctuation. 

If  the  blackboards  are  capacious  enough,  it  is  much  more 
convenient  for  criticism  to  have  these  verbal  solutions  in 
preliminary  drill  written  by  the  whole  class,  simultaneously, 
on  the  black-board.  In  the  recitation,  however,  these  ver- 
bal solutions  are  given  orally,  unless  a  majority  of  the  class 
fail  to  master  them,  when  it  may  be  well  to  request  all  the 
class  again  to  write  a  verbal  solution  on  their  slates,  or  on 
the  blackboards. 

ADDITIONAL  REMARKS. 

Object  of  tills  Lecture. 

This  lecture  is  written  out  so  full)',  and  the  process  described  so  elaborately  to 
show  the  working  character,  if  possible,  of  some  of  the  Normal  Methods  in  clas? 
management  by  which  the  habits  discussed  in  sections  X.  and  XI.  can  be  estab- 
lished in  the  spirit  and  power  of  truth  and  love 

2.  Anti-Rote;   Anti- Force. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  these  methods  are  all  new,  or  that  they  are  the  only  normal 
methods,  that  can  be  devised  or  used  by  ingenious  and  energetic  teachers  to  estate 
lish  good  habits.  They  are  given  as  the  simplest  to  describe,  and  the  easiest  to 
adopt,  and  reduce  to  practice  by  any  who  may  desire  to  do  so,  without  special  train- 
ing. It  is  hoped,  at  least,  these  descriptions  will  show  that  rote  and  force  can  bo 
displaced  by  ingenuity,  enterprise,  and  benevolence,  in  any  kind  of  school  or  col- 
lege, and  even  in  that  branch  in  which  these  two  elements,  laziness  and  tyrannr 
are  generally  the  most  odious  and  oppressive. 

3.    Discussion  of  this  Lecture. 

For  the  discussion  of  this  lecture,  on  the  day  following 
its  delivery,  I  requested  the  class  of  pupil  teachers  each  to 
make  an  outline  of  the  matter  contained,  as  it  had  been 
taken  in  his  notes.  The  result  was  very  satisfactory,  and  the 
practical  ability  to  bring  into  use  the  various  points  made 
in  the  "  Training  Class,"  during  the  drill,  and  recapitulated 
in  the  lecture,  was  obviously  largely  increased. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  155 

4:.  Sow  to  Use  tJiis  Lecture. 

It  is  hoped  that  a  careful  reading,  and  perhaps  many  re- 
readings  of  this  lecture  or  parts  of  it  in  connection  with  the 
daily  instruction  of  a  class  in  mental  arithmetic,  will  intro- 
duce a  SPIRIT  of  eager,  earnest  work,  to  the  displacement 
of  all  shirking  and  laziness,  and  that  the  teacher  will  apply  the 
same  methods,  with  suitable  modifications,  to  classes  in  other 
branches. 

If  any  teacher  should  attempt  these  methods  as  described 
in  this  lecture,  and  should  measurably  fail,  I  can  only  say 
that  hundreds  and  thousands  of  trained  teachers  have  used 
them  with  entire  success  and  thus  have  revolutionized  them- 
selves as  teachers. 

The  compound  complex  question  given  above  for  "Shorter 
Analysis,"  by  Cancellation,  is  such  as  is  ordinarily  solved  by 
Compound  Proportion  in  '-written  arithmetic";  but  I  have  been 
accustomed  to  introduce  such  questions  in  mental  arithmetic 
at  a  proper  stage  of  advancement,  to  give  the  pupils  a  sharper 
analytic  power  in  the  solution  of  all  complex  questions.  Since 
there  are  no  such  problems  found  in  mental  arithmetics,  I 
have  them  transferred  from  a  written  arithmetic  to  the  black 
board  by  older  pupils,  both  for  preliminary  drill,  and  for  the 
study  hour 

It  will  be  found  that  this  drill  in  the  shorter  analysis  of 
complex  questions,  will  enable  children  from  seven  to  ten 
years  of  age  to  solve  questions  in  compound  proportion  with 
ease  and  certainty,  which  are  ordinarily  considered  difficult 
for  persons  of  any  age. 

There  are  five  different  errors  to  which  pupils  are  inclined, 
in  giving  the  verbal  form  of  the  Shorter  Analysis.  I  shall 
leave  them  to  the  teacher  to  discover  and  correct,  as  the 
pupils  fall  into  them. 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 


LECTUKE   XIII. 


PKELIMINAKIES  TO  ORGANIZATION, 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


Having  given  in  the  first  five  lectures  of  this  course  the 
teacher's  leading  qualifications,  and  in  the  next  three  brought 
to  view  the  principal  difficulties  which  those  qualifications 
must  meet  and  overcome,  having  also  in  the  ninth  lecture 
given  an  outline  of  the  Human  Constitution  as  the  material 
to  be  wrought  and  embellished  by  the  teacher's  art,  and  in 
the  tenth  the  Objects  and  Aims  of  the  true  teacher  in  his 
school  work,  I  endeavored  in  the  twelfth,  to  give  a  pen  sketch 
of  the  management  of  one  school  class,  showing  how  these 
qualifications  before  described,  can  be  applied  in  class  man- 
agement to  constitute  the  soul  of  school  management. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  develop  the  more  general  arrange- 
ments necessary  to  give  a  true  class  management  a  fair 
opportunity  to  work  out  its  legitimate  results,  in  the  pros- 
perity and  progress  of  a  school  in  all  its  operations,  bearings 
and  interests. 

^—  In  this  lecture  I  shall  present  the  necessary  arrangements 
immediately  preliminary  to  the  opening  and  organization  of 
a  school. 

So  many  teachers,  and  those  who  are  least  prepared,  too, 
simply  engage  to  teach  a  school  at  so  much  a  quarter,  and 
156 


LECTURE    XIII.  157 

learn  nothing  about  the  character  of  the  school  or  its  facili- 
ties or  want  of  them,  till  they  find  themselves  in  the  midst 
of  a  turbulent,  boisterous  crew  of  children  and  youth,  that  I~ 
have  found  it  necessary  in  my  training  exercises  to  dwell 
with  particular  earnestness  and  minuteness,  on  these  neces- 
sary preliminary  arrangements,  in  immediate  preparation  for 
opening  and  organizing  a  school,  in  order  to  insure  any  fair 
prospect  of  success.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  enumerate  these 
necessary  preliminary  arrangements. 

I.    ARRANGEMENTS  WITH  DIRECTORS. 

1.  You  should  consult  the  School  Laws,  a  copy  of  which 
you  can  find  in  the  possession  of  any  Justice  of  the  Peace 
or  other  State  Officer,  and  learn  the  legal  powers  and  author- 
ity of  School  Directors,  as  well  as  the  duties  enjoined  on 
yourself,  by  legal  enactment. 

(1.)  You  will  find  that  their  power  over  a  school  is  almost 
absolute,  limited  only  by  the  amount  of  money  they  can 
control  for  its  support. 

(2.)  Contracts  with  Directors  in  order  to  be  binding, must 
be  made  before  other  witnesses  than  the  parties  immediately 
interested,  or  they  must  be  drawn  in  writing,  and  properly 
signed. 

(3.)  You  will  discover  that  the  Statute  Law  empowers  the 
Directors  to  make  repairs  and  improvements  on  school  build- 
ings and  surroundings  within  certain  limits  of  expenditure, 
and  that  they  can  raise  this  amount  by  a  special  tax,  without 
taking  a  vote  of  the  district. 

(4.)  You  should  know  that  you  have  no  authority  in  the 
school  save  that  which  you  derive  from  the  Directors  by 
explicit  contract,  or  continued  assent. 

(5.)  And  lastly  you  should  understand  that  if  you  transcend 
this  authority  so  derived  in  any  particular,  in  any  direction, 
you  can  be  held  as  having  violated  your  contract  and  are 
liable  for  damages,  and  can  thus,as  you  perceive,  be  dismissed 
almost  at  pleasure  by  a  disaffected  board.  Common  Law  and 
general  usage  will  sustain  the  Directors  in  almost  any  course 
they  may  choose  to  adopt,  in  your  case. 

2.   You  will  do  well  to  be  definite  and  specific  in  your  con- 
tact with  Directors. 

Items  in  Contract  with  Directors. 

(1.)  It  is  letter  to  engage  1y  the  day  than  by  the  month  or 
term,  for  at  least  four  good  reasons,  (a)  Since  you  are 
liable  to  be  dismissed  any  day,  as  I  have  already  shown,  you 


158  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

will  thus  be  able  to  leave  any  day,  and  demand  wages  up  to 
the  time  at  which  you  leave.  Otherwise,  not  having  taught 
the  time  you  agreed,  you  can  not  enforce  payment  for  the 
time  you  have  taught,  (b.)  It  gives  th.e  teacher  opportunity 
to  look  out  for  a  better  position,  and  stimulates  him  to  woik 
for  a  reputation  that  will  call  him  to  a  better  position  and 
higher  wages,  (c.)  It  makes  every  day's  work  a  distinct  re- 
sponsibility, for  a  definite  amount  of  money.  And  this  fact 
being  recognized  by  Directors  and  teacher  is  more  likely 
to  energize  the  teacher  in  his  every  day's  work,  and  make 
it  worth  the  wages  he  is  to  be  paid,  (d.)  It  makes  the 
Directors  more  watchful  over  the  interests  of  their  school,  to 
know  daily  that  the  teacher  is  faithfully  fulfilling  his  contract 
and  earning  his  stipulated  wages.  "Short  accounts  make  long 
friends." 

(2.)  Agree  definitely  as  to  the  number  of  days  the  school  is 
to  be  taught  in  a  week. 

(3.)  Agree  definitely  as  to  the  number  of  hours  you  are  to 
teach  for  a  day's  work;  otherwise,  you  may  teach  eight  or 
nine  hours  and  then  "you  will  do  no  more  than  you  ought; 
you  are  only  sitting  in  the  house  by  the  fire  and  hearing  the 
children  read  and  spell ;  the  hired  man  works  out  doors  at 
hard  work,  a  great  deal  longer, 'and  he  only  gets  half  as  much 
as  you  do."  By  all  means,  then,  agree  to  teach  six  hours  for 
a  day's  work,  and  only  six  hours;  thus  you  will  know  when 
your  day's  work  is  done.  But  if  you  think  the  school  or  any 
class  demands  more  time,  you  can  give  it,  and  get  the  credit 
for  your  generosity.  In  the  one  case  you  are  a  'lazy  school 
master,'  however  much  you  may  do ;  in  the  other,  its  being 
known  by  the  older  and  leading  pupils,  who  of  course  will 
form  this  extra  class,  that  you  are  giving  them  your  time  and 
labor,  will  aid  you  jnuch  in  waking  up  a  like  generous  spirit 
in  them  towards  you ;  and  this  will  enable  you  the  better  to 
<carry  out  any  desirable  plans  for  the  benefit  of  the  school ;  for 
instance,  composition  writing  or  declamation. 

(4.)  Agree  as  to  the  number  of  extra  branches. — Show  the 
Directors  that  the  common  legal  branches  will  more  than 
occupy  your  time,  if  properly  attended  to  and  that  evenr  extra 
branch  must  take  time  from  these  common  branches. 

You  can  make  the  proposition,  that  if  they  will  agree  that 
there  shall  be  only  one  extra  branch  taught,  that  you  will 
take  your  own  time  beyond  the  six  hours,  to  attend  to  this 
class. 

Without  such  a  definite  agreement  in  this  matter,  you 
will  not  unlikely  find  as  you  are  an  extra  teacher,  paid  extra 
wages,  that  the  older  pupils,  children  of  the  Directors  too, 


LECTURE   XIII.  159 

will  wish  to  study  a  half  a  dozen  different  extra  branches, 
and  no  one  will  be  willing  to  give  up,  "It's  this  branch  that  I 
want  to  study,  and  pa  agreed  to  pay  the  teacher  such  high 
wages  so  that  I  could  study  it,  and  he  would  not  have  to  send 
me  away  to  school."  So  argue  the  several  children  of  the 
different  Directors.  Now,  previous  agreement  cuts  off  all 
this  difficulty  and  changes  it  into  the  advantage  of  giving 
you  an  opportunity  to  show  your  generosity,  instead  of  failing 
to  satisfy  any  one  in  trying  to  manage  this  otherwise 
unmanageable  difficulty. 

You  will  do  well  to  agree  on  the  extra  branch  you  shall 
teach.  I  advise  Book  Keeping,  provided  you  are  competent 
to  teach  it.  You  will  find  it  the  best  means  of  securing  dili- 
gent, interested  study  from  overgrown  young  men.  Such 
'privileged  characters'  and  'hard  cases,'  will  give  you  no 
trouble,  if  you  can  furnish  them  something  to  do,  that  they 
think  pays  better  than  mischief  or  hoggishness.  In  fact  the 
hard  cases  of  former  teachers  may  thus  prove  your  best 
pupils  and  your  firmest  friends. 

(5.)  Agree  that  fuel  shall  be  supplied,  well  prepared,  and  if 
not,  the  school  may  be  dismissed  till  it  is ;  but  you  re- 
ceive wages  for  time  thus  lost  from  want  of  fuel,  or  from  any 
other  cause,  for  which  you  are  not  properly  responsible. 

Do  not  rest  satisfied  with  the  usage  of  providing  green 
unchopped  wood,  and  especially  request  that  the  pupils  may 
not  be  under  the  necessity  of  chopping  the  wood  during 
school  days.  It  is  a  great  evil  and  adds  very  much  to  the 
difficulty  of  securing  good  feeling  from  the  larger  pupils; 
and  without  this,  you  cannot  expect  to  manage  a  school  well. 
It  is  just  as  bad  as  a  failure  in  a  school,  to  be  under  the 
necessity  of  sending  out  boys  to  chop  wood  when  all  their 
time  is  needed  to  accomplish  their  regular  work  in  the  school 
room.  No  regular  programme  can  be  maintained,  if  this 
arrangement  is  forced  upon  you,  and  yet  unless  you  make  it 
a  matter  of  special  agreement  that  good  fuel  and  well  pre- 
pared be  provided,  you  will  probably  find  that  long  usage  in 
that  district  has  made  this  interruption  of  the  boys'  study 
hours  a  law. 

(6.)  An  understanding  should  be  had  as  to  yamiorship.  If 
you  receive  four  dollars  a  day,  or  more,  the  Directors  will  in 
all  probability  hire  a  janitor  for  you  and  pay  him  from  the 
school  funds.  If  you  receive  less,  you  will  be  expected  to 
pay  for  sweeping  and  dusting  the  house,  building  the  fires.etc., 
or  to  do  this  work  yourself.  "To  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given,4"  you  know. 

It  will  be  well  to  speak  of  this  matter,  and  assure  the 


160  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

Directors,  if  you  are  a  lady  teacher,  that  you  will  not  be 
obliged  to  call  on  them  to  build  fires,  every  cold  morning. 

This  janitor's  business  is  easily  managed,  however,  even 
if  you  do  have  to  pay  for  it  from  your  Avages.  A  little  con- 
trivance and  foresight  will  give  a  good  warm  room  on  the 
coldest  morning,  and  without  this  foresight  any  janitor  that 
can  be  hired,  almost,  will  fail  to  build  a  fire  in  time  on  the 
coldest  mornings. 

(7.)  Inquire  for  the  number  of  pupils  that  you  may  expect. 
The  Directors  will  give  the  number  that  attended  last  ses- 
sion, and  it  will  be  about  one-third,  probably,  of  those  le- 
gally entitled  to  public  money.  Inquire,  then,  for  the  num- 
ber enumerated  in  the  district,  and  state  that  you  hope  to 
have  nearly  all  in  attendance.  This  yon  may  fairly  expect 
if  you  obtain  higher  wages  than  any  former  teacher,  and  if 
you  succeed  in  impressing  the  Directors  with  your  ability 
and  determination  to  make  a  good  school. 

(8.)  Agree  as  to  the  admission  of  extra  pupils,  i.  e.,  any 
over  twenty  one  years  of  age,  or  any  from  other  districts. 
Propose  that  the  tuition  of  all  such  be  not  less  than  fifty 
cents  per  week,  and  that  one  half  go  to  the  district,  and  one 
half  to  increase  the  teacher's  wages.  This  arrangement 
can  be  shown  to  be  reasonable,  and  it  can  hardly  fail  to 
work  well,  every  way. 

(9.)  The  Power  of  Suspension  should  be  secured  by  con- 
tract. Since  there  will,  in  all  probability,  be  pupils  too  old 
and  too  large  to  control  by  physical  force,  even  if  you  think 
this  admissible  in  any  case,  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  provide 
for  the  worst  before  hand.  This  very  provision  to  meet  any 
exigency  will  be  the  best  safeguard  against  the  occurrence  of 
that  exigency.  I  would,  therefore,  ask  of  the  Directors  the 
power  of  referring  any  unmanageable  case  to  them,  and  the 
power  of  suspending  a  pupil,  when  necessary,  until  a  meeting 
of  the  Directors  could  be  called  to  consider  such  a  case. 
If,  then,  the  Directors  are  of  the  opinion,  on  examining  the 
merits  of  the  case,  by  hearing  both  sides,  that  I  am  incapable 
of  managing  the  school,  it  will  be  for  their  interest  and  for 
mine  that  I  abandon  the  school;  but  if  they  decide  that  tho 
pupil,  whose  case  is  brought  before  them,  is  in  the  fault,  and 
that  the  school  can  go  on  successfully,  provided  this  pupil 
be  expelled,  they  can  expel  him  till  such  a  time  as  he  is  willing 
to  make  proper  acknowledgement,  when  the  teacher  ought 
to  be  willing  to  receive  him  back,  on  trial. 

To  such  an  arrangement,  many  boards  of  Directors  will 
not  accede  at  first.  They  will  object :  "We  don't  wailt  to  be 
bothered  with  governing  our  school;  we  hire  a  teacher  to  do 


LiEOTUHE    XIII. 

ifc,  and  we  want  him  (or  her)  to  do  it.  We  can't  be  running 
to  the  school,  every  day  or  two,  to  settle  difficulties  between 
the  teacher  and  the  scholars.  We  expect  the  teacher  to  be 
able  to  settle  his  (or  her)  own  difficulties,  and  manage  the 
school  to  suit  himself  (or  herself)  or  give  it  up,  and  let  some 
other  teacher  take  it,  that  can  manage  it." 

To  this  I  would  reply : 

"It  is  not  my  intention,  gentlemen,  to  make  you  trouble,  or 
throw  any  responsibility  on  you  which  I  can  possibly  avoid, 
and  it  is  for  this  very  reason  that  I  ask  this  power  of  sus- 
pending an  unmanageable  pupil. 

If  any  vicious  boy  should  stand  out  and  resist  every  influ- 
ence I  could  bring  to  bear  upon  him,  becoming  still  more 
troublesome,  and  defeating  his  own  true  ends  in  stubbornly 
trying  to  defeat  mine,  it  is  plain  that  if  I  can  refer  his  case 
to  you,  and  he  knows  it,  that  I  shall  have  an  amount  of 
authority  and  power  which  he  will  hardly  be  willing  to  brook. 
Thus  yielding  to  a  necessity,  he  may  come  under  more  kindly 
influences,  while  otherwise  he  would  continue  to  set  all  influ- 
ences at  defiance.  It  is  true,  I  might  expel  him  from  school, 
but  I  prefer  not  to  take  such  responsibility.  In  fact  it  will 
do  such  pupil  or  pupils  much  more  good,  and  be  much  more 
likely  to  save  them  to  the  school,  and  to  themselves  to  have 
their  case  decided  by  disinterested  parties." 

Caution. — Provided  the  Directors  are  persuaded  to  grant 
you  this  power  of  suspension,  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to 
hold  it  in  reserve  as  the  very  last  resort,  acknowledging  to 
yourself,  even  then,  that  if  you  possessed  more  power  in  your 
own  personal  influence,  such  extraneous  aid  would  be  unnec- 
essary. So  you  can  not  but  consider  that  every  time  such 
aid  is  appealed  to,  or  indeed  a  resort  to  it  is  threatened,  it  is 
only  betraying  your  own  weakness.  Still,  it  is  better  to  use 
such  means  than  to  be  defeated  in  every  plan  and  effort,  you 
can  devise  and  put  forth  for  the  good  of  the  school  by  one  or 
two  brutish  pupils.  In  other  lectures  I  have  spoken  and 
shall  speak  of  special  measures  to  be  pursued  with  such  hard 
cases  before  referring  them  to  the  Directors. 

(10.)  Ask  the  Directors  to  visit  the  school  house  with  you. 
No  doubt  you  may  find  some  reluctance;  but  before  you  con- 
clude your  contract,  by  all  means,  examine  the  school  house, 
its  grounds,  its  out  houses,  its  well,  its  seats  and  desks,  its 
windows,  blackboards,  etc.,  etc.,  and  report  to  the  Directors. 
Now  you  will  be  able  to  get  the  Directors  to  visit  the  school 
house,  I  think. 

Possibly,  there  will  be  some  expression  of  surprise  at  the 
state  of  affairs,  a  dirty  floor,  (possibly  hogs  or  sheep  have 


162  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

lodged  on  it,  since  the  close  of  the  last  term),  broken  win- 
dow panes,  rickety  desks,  demolished  benches,  fragments  of 
a  chair,  an  old  burnt  out,  cracked  stove  with  dislocated  pipe 
are  the  promising  prospect  for  the  'new  teacher'  to  commence 
school  with. 

It  will  be  well  now  to  suggest  or  rather  to  win  the  sug- 
gestion from  the  Directors,  that  there  shall  be  a  thorough  ren- 
ovation of  the  whole  affair.  The  Directors  have  the  power 
to  do  whatever  is  necessary  to  be  done  within  certain  limits 
of  expense.  The  rest  can  be  done  by  a  general  gathering  of 
the  young  people  of  the  District.  The  floor  can  be  scrubbed, 
the  windows  washed  and  the  broken  panes  restored,  the 
walls  can  be  whitewashed,  the  desks  repaired  or  possibly  new 
ones  obtained,  the  stove  can  be  repaired  and  the  pipe  re- 
placed or  a  new  stove  and  pipe  purchased,  a  rostrum  provid- 
ed with  a  suitable  teacher's  desk  and  chair :  lastly,  recitation 
seats  are  a  necessity,  and  must  be  obtained  if  possible. 

(11.)  But  what  of  the  apparatus?  viz.,  The  black- 
boards, the  bell,  the  clock ;  a  globe,  geometrical  forms  and 
solids,  wall  maps  and  charts  ? 

If  you  dare,  Teacher,  if  the  interest  now  excited  will  warrant 
the  probability  of  success  in  carrying  through  such  arrange- 
ments, it  will  be  well  to  suggest  to  the  Directors  that 
most  graded  schools  have  such  facilities,  where  the  teacher 
has  much  less  to  do,  having  only  two  grades  in  a  room  ; 
whereas  there  must  be  at  least  four  grades  in  any  good  coun- 
try ungraded  school,  so  called. 

Remark. — Let  me  caution  you  here,  my  young  friend, 
against  leaving  all  or  any  of  these  proposed  improvements 
to  be  accomplished  by  the  school  board,  before  the  time 
agreed  upon  for  your  school  to  commence.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  there  will  nothing  be  done,  without  your  presence, 
inspiration  and  supervision  of  the  whole  matter.  So  you 
ma}'  as  well  assume  the  responsibility  at  once,  by  volunteer- 
ing to  come  on  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  to  go  to  work  with 
the  Directors  and  any  others  that  can  be  enlisted  and  do 
what  is  necessary  or  desirable  to  be  done.  This  is  the  only 
safe  course  to  take  in  the  premises.  And  thoroughness  and 
energy  in  this  matter  will  pay,  I  assure  you. 

(12.)  It  is  well  to  have  an  understanding  about  text  books, 
how  they  are  to  be  supplied,  and  what  kinds  are  to  be  used. 
You  can  thus  forestall  the  objection,  so  often  raised  against 
new  teachers,  by  so  many  fathers  who  spend  enough  every 
week,  if  not  every  day,  in  tobacco  and  whisky,  to  furnish 
their  children  with  an  entire  outfit  of  new  books ;  "That's 
just  the  way,  every  new  teacher  must  have  a  lot  of  new 


LECTURE   XIII.  163 

books  ,  just  speculation,  nothing  else ;   I'm  not  agoing  to 
stand  it." 

To  enable  the  Directors  to  answer  this  objection  when 
you  call  for  additional  books  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  state 
that  you  can  get  along  with  the  kinds  of  text  books  now 
used  in  the  school  without  change  :  all  you  want  is  that  eacL 
pupil  be  supplied  with  his  own  books,  so  that  there  will  be 
no  necessity  for  two  or  more  pupils  using  the  same  book, 
thus  creating  disorder  by  communicating,  or  preventing  any 
one  from  working  under  a  regular  school  programme. 

3.  Do  not  fail  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  Directors  in 
their  school  and  in  your  plans. 

All  these  arrangements  in  your  contract  will  aid  you  in 
doing  this,  if  you  suggest  them  in  the  spirit  of  deference 
to  the  proper  legal  authority  vested  in  the  Directors  and  with 
suitable  personal  respect  to  the  gentlemen  themselves.  An 
earnest  desire  evinced  on  your  part  to  make  suitable  arrange- 
ments for  a  good  school  with  the  ability  to  point  out  what  is 
necessary  or  desirable  can  hardly  fail  to  win  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  any  board  of  Directors  that  you  will  be  willing 
to  work  under,  and  to  arouse  in  them  an  interest  that  they 
have  never  before  felt  in  the  prosperity  and  success  of  their 
school. 

It  requires  more  'common sense,"  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture and  tact  to  win  Directors  over  to  their  own  interests, 
and  to  the  interests  of  their  children  than  to  manage  the 
children.  Ladies,  we  must  admit,  if  gifted  with  any  degree  oi 
personal  attraction,  can  succeed  in  this  direction  better  than 
gentlemen  teachers.  But  the  interest  and  ^co-operation  of  the 
Directors  must  be  secured,  in  order  to  a  large  and  true  success. 
I  would  be  unwilling  to  engage  to  work  for  any  board  of  Di- 
rectors that  I  could  not  in  some  way  influence  to  make  some 
personal  effort  and  sacrifice  for  their  school.  In  your  novel- 
ties and  innovations  in  methods  of  teaching,  for  instance,  in 
teaching  geography  by  drawing  maps,  or  in  using  the  word 
method,  or  phonetic  method  in  teaching  the  alphabet,  you 
will  very  likely  need  the  Directors  to  stand  between  you  and 
fault-finding  parents ;  but  still  more,  in  the  matter  of  gov- 
ernment, as  for  instance,  if  you  should  think  it  necessary  to 
deny  a  pupil  the  privilege  of  reciting  in  a  certain  class,  in 
case  he  was  tardy  or  otherwise  troublesome. 

By  securing  the  friendship  and  confidence  of  one  or  more 
of  the  Directors,  you  can  proceed  under  his  or  their  advice 
with  much  more  confidence  in  adopting  any  measures  which 
you  feel  are  desirable  for  the  gnod  of  the  school. 


364  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

II.  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  ONE'S  SELF. 

1.  You  must  secure  the  sole  occupancy  of  a  comfortalh 
room,  at  your  boarding  place.     For  bow  can  you  otherwise 
bave   the  use  of  your  time  for  study  and  preparation  for 
classes? 

2.  You  will  own  such  reference  looks  as  are  necessary  for 
the  several  branches  you  expect  to  teach.     You  will  need  an 
unabridged  Dictionary,  and  a  Brand's  Encyclopedia,  as  books 
for  general  reference.     Besides  these  you  must  purchase  the 
best  books  on  the  extra  branch  that  you  expect  to  teach ; 
also  several  practical  works  on  methods  of  teaching  and 
school  management.     You  ought  also  to  subscribe  for  one  or 
more  of  the  best  Educational  periodicals,  and  thus  keep  up 
interest  in  professional  friends  and  current  professional  topics 
of  discussion. 

3.  You  should  not  put  off  coining  to  your  school  till  the 
morning  on  which  you  expect  to  commence  the  term ;  but 
be  on  hand  some  days  before,  and  see  that  all  the  arrange- 
ments in  the  school  house  and  for  your  own  comfort  are  com- 
X)leted.     You  will  thus  begin  the  new  term  with  a  pleasant 
room,  well  arranged,  newly  whitewashed,  sweet  and  clean. 
So  dispose  of  your  apparatus,  maps,  charts,  clock,  and  pic- 
tures if  you  have  them,  as  to  present  an  attractive  appear- 
ance     The  very  atmosphere  of  such  a  room, even  though  it 
be  the  same  old  place  where  disorder  and  misrule  so  long 
held  sway, — may  by  such  a  transformation  become  inspiring 
with  the  elements  of  cleanliness,  neatness,  order,  moral  pur- 
ity, and  mental  energy.     You  may  use  your  school  room  for 
your  own  study,  if  you  can  find  no  more  convenient  room  at 
your  boarding  place. 

Remark. — The  most  important  feature,  after  all,  in  these 
preliminary  arrangements,  though  they  are  all  essential  to 
a  high  success  in  teaching  any  common  country  school,  ia 
that  they  impress  your  pupils  and  your  patrons  with  a  new  ap- 
preciation of  the  value  of  their  school ;  and  it  is  scarcely 
possible  that  the  teacher  who  enters  upon  his  work  with  such 
a  spirit  of  earnestness  and  enterprise,  can  fail  of  making  as 
much  better  school  than  ever  was  known  in  that  district  be- 
fore as  his  efforts  and  plans  are  nobler  and  more  self  sacri- 
ficing. 

Such  a  Teacher  can  'have  everything  his  own  way,'  in  most 
cases  ;  at  least,  after  he  has  demonstrated  that  he  is  able  to 
carry  out  his  plans  ;  because  the  Directors  must  feel  and 
know  that  his  every  purpose  and  effort  is  designed  and  is  well 
calculated  to  promote  the  real  and  permanent  interest  of 
the  school  and  community. 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT, 


LECTURE   XIV. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  AN  UNGRADED  SCHOOL. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Teachers  : 

It  is  supposed  that  the  arrangements  enumerated  in  my 
last  lecture  have  been  made,  and  that  you,  any  one  of  you, 
are  to  begin  your  operations  as  a  teacher  in  a  new  room,  new 
in  its  appearance,  attractiveness  and  facilities.  Yes,  the  very 
atmosphere  and  light  of  that  school  room  are  renovated. 
Purity,  vigor  and  honor  are  the  pervading  elements  and  so  im- 
press themselves  on  the  feelings  of  every  one  entering. 

You  will  be  sure  to  be  there,  at  your  school  room,  at  least 
an  hour  before  time  for  the  school  to  begin.  See  that  the 
room  is  comfortable,  and  all  charts,  wall-maps,  cards,  mottoes, 
and  recitation  seats,  are  properly  arranged  for  making  the 
most  pleasant  impression.  So  of  your  globe,  and  any  other 
articles  of  apparatus,  let  them  be  properly  displayed. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  if  there  is  one  here,  more 
winning  and  capable  than  the  rest,  to  whom  this  pre- 
liminary work  is  not  necessary  and  he  or  she  can  succeed  any 
where  under  the  most  unpromising  circumstances,  such  a 
teacher  will  avail  himself  of  these  suggestions  and  secure 
the  manifest  advantage  of  such  preliminary  arrangements  as 
I  described  in  my  last  lecture.  But  if  there  is  any  one  here 

165 


166  LECTURE   XIV. 

entirely  inexperienced,  possessing  little  working  or  winning 
power,  and  who  needs  every  favoring  circumstance  to  pre- 
vent utter  failure  and  an  inglorious  fizzle  in  his  first  at- 
tempt at  teaching,  he  is  the  one  who  will  give  no  attention 
to  these  directions.  He  will  simply  agree  to  teach  for  so 
much  per  quarter,  learn  nothing  about  the  character  of  his 
Directors,  patrons  or  pupils,  ascertain  nothing  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  school-house,  not  even  whether  it  is  tenable  or 
not.  He  will  find  himself  late  on  the  morning  of  commenc- 
ing school,  and  most  probably  a  noisy  crew  of  semi-savages 
to  face,  made  so  by  his  own  neglect  and  inefficiency.  The 
sooner  he  leaves  the  school  in  discouragement  and  disgust, 
the  better  for  all  parties. 

I  remember  once,  when  a  child,  waiting  at  a  school-house 
an  hour  or  more  with  fifty  other  boys  and  girls  for  the  teach- 
er who  was  to  open  the  school  that  morning.  All  the  hoot- 
ings  and  how'lings,  the  bawling  and  screaming,  the  stamping 
and  dancing,  the  running  in  and  running  out,  the  upsetting 
of  tables,  desks  and  benches  that  could  be  done,  were  done  as 
thoroughly  and  heartily  as  twenty  big  boys  and  little  boys 
intermingling  with  coy  great  girls  and  screaming  little  girls 
could  do  it.  In  the  midst  of  such  a  Babel  we  heard  a 
squeaky  little  voice,  crying  "Boys,  boys,  stop  your  noise. 
Take  your  seats."  The  new  teacher  had  come,  a  slender, 
maiden-faced  young  man,  "right  from  Yale  College."  He 
thought  we  were  the  worst  set  of  children  he  ever  saw,  and 
so  we  were,  but  it  was  his  own  fault.  The  Directors  dis- 
missed him  from  the  school  at  the  end  of  two  weeks. 
Whether  he  had  any  better  success  any  where  else, I  never 
learned ;  but  the  Directors  provided  an  old  gentleman,  who 
by  free  use  of  the  rod  subdued  that  school  into  apparenc  de- 
cency though  we  did  little  but  spell  columns,  and  'do  bums,' 
that  winter.  It  was  the  only  district  school  I -ever  attended, 
and  1  endeavored  to  make  good  use  of  it  when  I  came  to 
teach  by  doing  everything  as  differently  as  possible  from  ev- 
erything Dr.  Goodson  did  as  a  teacher. 

But  in  order  to  prevent  such  proceedings,  or  the  formation 
of  leagues  against  you,  or  the  power  of  an  unorganized  com- 
bination of  sulky  or  defiant  rowdyism,  find  yourself  early  at  the 
school-room  and  prepared  to  take  all  such  qualities  out  of  your 
pupils  by  infusing  better  ones. 

lake  every  pupil  by  the  hand  as  he  or  she  enters,  and  in- 
teresting yourself  in  his  or  her  studies  or  wishes,  make  him 
or  her  your  friend  by  showing  an  earnest  friendly  spirit  and 
a  real  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  eacn  pupil.  You 
can  inquire  about  studies  and  books,  the  wishes  and  expeota- 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  167 

lions,  etc.,  etc.,  of  every  one,  nearly,  while  the  school  is  as- 
sembling. Thus,  when  the  proper  time  arrives,  a  stroke  of 
the  bell  will  enable  you  to  call  the  school  to  ouder,  and  u 
kindly  request  will  be  sufficient  to  seat  the  pupils. 

Let  the  pupils  arrange  themselves  as  they  desire  on  the 
seats.  They  will  for  the  most  part  take  such  seats  as  aro 
suitable.  If  not,  a  suggestion  or  request  will  be  sufficient. 
In  case  of  any  previous  claims,  however,  which  can  not  be 
reconciled,  a  drawing  for  seats  may  be  advisable.  The  seats 
being  arranged,  it  may  be  well  to  state  definitely  your  pur- 
pcses  and  aims  with  regard  to  your  term's  work ;  and  in  so 
doing,  a  few  pertinent,  kindly  sentences  will  be  better  than 
any  amount  of  gasconade  or  bluster. 

In  prosecuting  a  course  of  examination  for  classifying  the 
pupils, you  will  observe  these  three  directions,  as  closely  as 
may  be  practible. 

(1.)  Furnish  something  interesting  for  every  pupil  to  do, 
from  the  commencement,  and  all  day  long. 

(2.)  Forestall  disorder  by  establishing  order  at  every 
movement. 

(3,)  You  will  more  readily  interest  the  younger  classes 
by  engaging  with  the  older  classes  first,  than  by  pursuing  tho 
opposite  course. 

(CLASSIFICATION   IN    ARITHMETIC.        INVESTIGATION   IN    READING. 

In  order  to  become  acquainted  with  the  pupils  as  speedily 
as  possible,  their  general  culture,  or  want  of  it,  their  peculiar 
personal  habits  of  thought  and  expression,  an  exercise  in 
reading  will  prove  the  most  satisfactory  as  a  commencing 
exercise.  If  conducted  with  any  skill  and  vivacity  it  will  not 
only  reveal  the  literary  advancement  of  the  older  pupils  who 
engage  in  it,  but  the  criticisms  and  re-readings  of  the  teacher 
will  enlist  the  attention  and  interest  of  all  the  younger 
classes.  It  may  be  well  to  ask  all  to  join  this  advanced  class 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  read  in  the  two  higher  classes 
before.  Before  dismissing  the  class  from  the  recitation  seats 
you  will  make  provisions  for  occupying  their  time,  by  proposing 
to  them  the  formation  of  an  advanced  class  in  Arithmetic,  to 
include  all  those  pupils  who  can  add  and  subtract  'Common 
Fractions,7  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 

You  will  say.     "It  is  my  wish  to  form  at  least  three  classes 
in  Arithmetic,  and  all  who  can  add  and  subtract  any  simple 
fractions,  as  two-thirds  and  three-fourths,  four-fifths  and  seven 
eigths,  I  would  like  to  have  join  the  advanced  class.     Some, 
I  have  no  doubt,  have  gone  farther  in  the  arithmetic,  but  we 


168  LECTURE   XIV. 

will  begin  our  operations  in  arithmetic  this  term  with  a 
thorough  review  and  mastery  of  fractions.  How  many  of 
this  reading  class  have  worked  examples  in  fractions  ?  "Well, 
as  many  of  you  as  wish  to  do  so,  may  look  over  this  subject, 
work  out  as  many  examples  by  the  rules  in  the  book,  as  you 
are  able,  and  I  will  try  your  ability  in  adding  and  subtract- 
ing fractions,  as  soon  as  I  have  heard  the  other  classes  read/' 

CALLING  PUPILS  TO  RECITATION  SEATS  AND  EXCUSING  THEM 

You  will  establish  order  in  this  matter  at  once.  While 
you  can  not  call  individuals,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  reci- 
tation seats,  not  knowing  definitely  who  belong  to  any  par- 
ticular class,  you  will  use  all  diligence  in  bringing  every 
pupil  to  the  first  exercise  of  the  class  who  properly  belongs 
in  it.  As  the  exercise  proceeds  you  will  ask  some  older  pupil 
to  write  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  class  on  a  piece  of 
paper  which  you  will  furnish.  As  soon  as  the  names  are 
written  you  will  call  them,  and  thus  fix  more  definitely  in 
your  mind  the  name  of  every  individual  in  the  class,  and  save 
yourself  from  the  embarrassment  of  calling  wrong  names, 
and  the  disorder  and  laughter  at  your  expense  which  such 
mistakes  will  necessarily  occasion. 

When  the  exercise  is  concluded,  you  will  not  excuse  the 
class  in  a  mass,  but  individually,  calling  the  name  of  a  boy 
and  a  girl  alternately  as  far  as  this  is  practicable ;  it  being 
supposed  that  the  sexes  occupy  separate  seats  during  recita- 
tions, as  also,  of  course,  during  study  hours. 

This  easy,  kindly,  introduction  of  orderly  movement,  at 
the  very  outset,  will,  if  managed  with  any  skill,  impress  all 
pupils  with  a  respect  for  the  school  room,  and  all  its  evolu- 
tion and  exercises.  While  so  much  military  precision  as  to 
be  burdensome,  may  not  be  required,  yet  just  enough  of 
orderly  movement  to  avoid  confusion  will  secure  a  good 
natured  compliance  from  all,  and  the  very  atmosphere  of  the 
school  room  will  seem  pervaded  with  cheerfulness,  kindness 
and  respect. 

Having  assigned  business  for  the  most  advanced  class,  in 
preparing  for  an  informal  examination  in- Arithmetic,  you  can 
now  call  for  those  who  are  accustomed  to  read  in  the  second 
and  third  readers;  and  after  an  exercise  of  about  thirty  min- 
utes, during  which  their  names  shall  have  been  taken,  you 
may  state  that  you  intend  to  form  another  class  in  Written 
Arithmetic.  If  any  are  able  to  add  and  subtract  Fractions  they 
may  belong  to  the  highest  class ;  if  not,  and  they  can  per- 
form examples  in  Long  Division,  they  may  belong  to  the  sec 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  169 

ond  class.  Then  you  can  mention  some  example  by  which 
you  will  be  likely  to  test  the  class,  as  1565  by  35.  This  defin- 
ite example  with  a  few  others  placed  on  the  blackboard  will 
give  more  point  and  energy  to  the  effort  than  the  simple  an- 
nouncement of  an  intended  examination.  Thus  you  provide 
interesting  work  for  this  class,  while  you  are  attending  to  the 
class  in  the  first  reader,  and  to  the  abcdarians. 

You  will  carefully  dismiss  the  pupils  of  the  several  classes 
in  order,  by  name,  from  the  recitation  seats,  and  secure  quiet 
and  respectful  movements  to  and  from  recitation  seats. 

Numbering  the  pupils  in  the  classes  may  be  deferred  until 
their  formal  adjustment  in  their  respective  classes.  Still  the 
requisite  order  may  be  sustained  by  dismissing  pupils  by 
name,  a  girl  and  a  boy  alternately,  rather  than  dismissing  a 
class  in  a  mass.  The  classes  of  small  children  may  be  fur- 
nished with  slates  for  drawing  when  not  engaged  in  their 
class  drill. 

RECESS 

By  the  time  that  the  reading  classes  are  examined,  it  will 
be  proper  to  give  a  recess.  It  may  be  well  to  ask  the  pupils 
to  arrange  their  books  and  slates  so  that  they  will  not  be 
thrown  on  the  floor  during  recess.  It  will  now  be  necessary 
to  excuse  pupils  by  rows  or  tiers  of  seats,  rather  than  to  pro- 
nounce the  word,  Recess,  and  thus  initiate  general  disorder 
and  misrule,  by  permitting  forty,  sixty  or  more  to  bound  pell 
mell  towards  the  door,  out  of  which  there  goes  an  explosion 
of  noises  hideous,  as  if  all  Pandemonium  had  broken  loose  on 
an  unoffending  world.  Convert  all  such  occasions  for  disor- 
der into  pleasant  orderly  movements ;  then  you  will  not  be 
compelled  to  give  disagreeable  scolding  lectures  against 
rowdyism  and  ruffianism.  You  will  find  in  nineteen  cases  out 
of  every  twenty  where  you  are  inclined  to  scold  the  pupils, 
that  you  are  raoie  in  fault,  than  they,  for  not  having  foreseen  the 
difficulty  and  for  not  having  made  such  arrangements  as  would 
have  prevented  it,  or  converted  it  into  a  decided  instance  of 
good  order  and  kindly  management. 

EXAMINATION  IN   ARITHMETIC. 

As  your  school  will  in  all  probability  be  graded  best  on 
the  basis  of  Arithmetic,  and  as  you  can  not  well  make  more 
than  four  grades,  I  will  suggest  that  the  grades  may  first  be 
established  according  to  the  following  plan : 

The  A  grade  will  include  all  who  can  add  and  subtract 
fractions. 


170  LECTURE   XIV. 

The  B  grade  will  include  all  below  the  A  grade  who  can 
work  ordinary  examples  in  Long  Division. 

The  C  grade  will  include  all  below  the  B  grade  who  can 
read  simple  sentences. 

The  D  grade  will  include  all  below  the  C  grade. 

The  examination  in  Arithmetic  should  be  conducted  with 
reference  to  locating  every  pupil  in  his  proper  grade.  It  will 
be  objected  to  this  plan  of  grading  a  country  school,  that 
some  pupils  who  can  not  manage  fractions  will  be  found 
much  more  advanced  in  other  studies  than  some  that  can. 
To  this,  I  reply  that  while  I  would  not  hold  every  pupil  in- 
flexibly to  the  grade  to  which  his  advancement  in  Arithmetic 
would  assign  him  or  her,  I  would  adhere  to  this  plan  of  grad- 
ing as  closely  as  possible,  for  reasons  that  will  soon  appear, 
in  constructing  an  ideal  programme. 

The  examination  of  the  Arithmetic  classes  may  occupy 
the  rest  of  the  forenoon,  save  that  one  more  exercise  must 
be  given  to  the  abcdarians:  they  must  not  be  overlooked 
nor  neglected. 

AFTERNOON  EXERCISES. 

Classes  may  be  organized  in  English  Grammar  by  assign- 
ing a  definite  sentence  for  all  who  are  sufficiently  advanced  to 
study  grammar  to  parse  with  reference  to  an  examination 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  two  classes.  Those  who  can  parse 
the  sentence  with  some  degree  of  correctness  may  form  the 
advanced  class,  all  the  rest  included  in  the  A  and  B  grades 
can  begin  in  a  primary  class.  While  theA  grade  is  preparing 
for  examination  in  Grammar,  the  B  grade  can  be  examined 
in  Geography,  also  the  C  grade  in  primary  Geography,  and 
such  directions  for  the  first  recitation  may  be  given  as  may 
incite  to  some  effort  for  the  preparation  of  the  first  lesson. 

The  a,  b,  c,  pupils  must  now  receive  attention,  after  which 
the  Grammar  class  may  be  examined  by  being  called  on  indi- 
vidually to  parse  any  words  in  the  sentence  assigned.  If  it 
is  found  that  few  if  any  can  parse  common  constructions  cor- 
rectly, and  are  unable  to  distinguish  parts  of  speech,  it  will 
be  well  to  have  but  one  class  in  Grammar. 

RECESS. 

Be  careful  to  maintain  good  order  in  excusing  pupils  for  re- 
cess, again  also  in  their  resuming  their  study  seats.  A  writing 
class  may  now  be  arranged  for,  and  you  will  carefully  state 
what  kind  of  paper,  pens  and  ink,  you  prefer,  and  ascertain 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  171 

what  facilities  there  are  for  obtaining  them.  It  is  under- 
stood that  you  give  your  entire  time  to  Penmanship  during 
the  practice  hour,  and  that  all  the  pupils  who  write  copies 
attend  to  it  at  the  same  time,  and  at  no  other  time  during  tho 
day. 

When  the  Reading  and  Spelling  classes  also  are  provi 
ded  for,  you  will  be  ready  to  decide  on  the  arrangements  for 
the  extra  class.     (1.)  What  branch  it  shall  be  in.      (2.)  What 
text-book  the  class  shall  use.       (3.)  At  what  time  the  class 
shall  meet. 

As  to  the  branch,  I  advise  Book-keeking, if  you  are  com- 
petent to  teach  it.  No  branch  can  be  made  so  useful  and 
interesting  to  an  ordinary  class  of  boys  and  young  men,  and 
no  study  will  help  so  much  to  win  their  respect  for  the  school, 
provide  you  know  how  to  teach  it,  and  no  branch  will  prove 
so  heavy  a  drag,if  you  do  not  understand  teaching  it.  The  in- 
dividual plan  pursued  in  Commercial  Colleges  will  prove  a 
failure  in  every  sense. 

These  arrangements  having  been  satisfactorily  made  and 
such  provisions  for  a  good  supply  of  books  and  slates  for 
to-morrow's  work  as  shall  seem  to  be  satisfactory,  you  are 
now  ready  to  engage  in  the  closing  exercises  of  the  day.  They 
may  consist  of  a  speech  of  congratulation  as  to  the  very  favor- 
able prospects  for  a  good  and  interesting  school ;  your  deter- 
mination to  lay  yourself  out  to  do  your  best  to  please  your 
pupils  and  benefit  them  ;  your  expectations  that  there  will  be 
so  much  of  interest  in  the  recitations  and  in  the  preparation 
for  the  recitations  on  plans  which  you  shall  propose  that 
thero  will  be  no  necessity  for  any  rules  save  the  rule  of  right ; 
but  if  there  is,  you  intend  to  propose  a  rule  only  when  the 
last  necessity  demands  it,  and  then  you  expect  that  every 
pupil  for  the"  good  oi  the  school,  for  the  better  improvement 
Df  its  privileges,  and  for  the  higher  advantage  that  can  be 
derived  from  them,  every  pupil  wTill  try  to  sustain  any  such 
rule  or  regulation  as  may  be  seen  to  be  imperatively  neces- 
sary, but  just  so  soon  as  the  rule  is  found  unnecessary  it  will 
be  laid  aside.  But  still  it  is  your  desire  rather  that  so  much 
interest  and  good  feeling  shall  be  manifested  that  no  positive 
rules  will  be  necessary.  It  is  so  much  more  pleasant  and 
noble  to  feel  that  every  one,  teacher  and  pupil,  is  trying  so 
hard  to  do  right  and  is  so  busy  in  his  regular  work  that  he 
has  no  time  nor  disposition  to  do  wrong  and  make  trouble.  It 
is  in  fact  your  feeling,  and  you  are  persuaded  that  it  is  the 
feeling  of  every  pupil,  that  the  school  is  to  be  a  grand  suc- 
cess. 

I  have  thus,  teachers,  given  you  a  few  leading  thoughts 


172  LECTURE   XIV. 

fur  a  closing  speech  just  such  as  several  similar  occasion*?  in 
my  early  experience  inspired  me  with.  In  every  case,  my 
hopes  and  purposes  were  more  than  realized,  and  my  experi- 
ences in  my  country  District  Schools  are  remembered  as 
among  the  dearest  and  happiest  of  my  life. 

Now,  it  does  seem  to  me  with  such  feelings  in  your  own 
heart,  earnestly  expressed,  that  there  can  not  fail  to  be  a 
more  than  corresponding  feeling  and  determination  on  the 
part  of  your  pupils  to  avail  themselves  of  the  arrangements 
wmcn  are  being  made  for  their  benefit,  and  that  every  one 
will  leave  the  school-house  that  evening  with  a  new  purpose 
aroused  in  his  soul  to  try  and  do  something  for  himself,  and 
to  make  something  of  himself,  if  he  has  never  had  such  a 
feeling  before.  Earnestness  begets  earnestness,  kindness 
begets  kindness,  enthusiasm  begets  enthusiasm,  pure  motives 
and  high  aims  beget  noble  resolutions  and  determined  effort 

After  such  a  hearty,  earnest  speech  and  the  cheerful 
responsive  countenances  answering  in  smiles  or  tears  to  its 
sentiments,  is  a  most  fitting  time  to  introduce  the  singing  of 
a  hymn,  the  reading  of  a  few  verses  in  the  Testament,  and  a 
brief  prayer  for  the  guidance  of  divine  wisdom  in  carrying 
out  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  term.  Teacher,  if  you  have 
never  prayed  before,  how  can  you  deny  yourself  so  high  and 
blessed  a  privilege  now? 

I  will  not  here  contrast  the  common  way  of  spending  the 
first  day  of  a  term  in  a  country  school;  its  want  of  sys- 
tematic procedure ;  its  consequent  embarrassment,  disorder 
and  coni  ision  in  trying  to  find  out  what  is  to  be  done;  the 
noise  an  i  turbulence  of  the  occasion,  the  sharp  words,  and 
the  soui  looks  of  the  teacher;  the  ill  restrained  boister- 
ousness  of  the  pupils,  ever  ready  to  break  out  into  a  bru- 
tish laiitfh  at  the  teacher's  expense;  in  short,  the  general 
disgust  oj%  both  teacher  and  pupils  for  each  other,  and  for  the 
school;  \he  noisy,  defiant  or  contemptuous  talk  of  pupils  on 
their  way  home,  including  threats  of  barring  out,  and  all 
sorts  of  laischief  and  wickedness,  if  the  teacher  don't  carry 
himself  pretty  straight.  Such  scenes  are  too  common  and 
too  well  understood  to  call  for  any  description  here. 

ORGANIZATION  PROPER. 

I  pass  now  to  the  construction  of  a  programme  to  guide 
and  control  the  labors  of  the  school. 

Remarks. 

(1.)  Nothing  can  be  done  well  without  an  orderly  dispo- 
sition of  time,  and  a  well  arranged  system  of  labor,  both  for 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  17B 

the  teacher  and  every  pupil  during  every  moment  of  school 
time. 

(2.)  It  will  be  necessary  to  make  as  few  classes  as  possi- 
ble, in  order  that  more  time  may  be  secured  for  those  recita 
tions  which  require  some  considerable  time  in  order  to  ex- 
cite an  interest  in  the  subjects  of  study. 

(3.)  It  may  be  well  to  condense  reading  and  spelling 
classes,  making  only  half  as  many  as  has  been  the  cust.om 
before.  The  reason  for  this  course  must  be  carefully  ex- 
plained to  the  school. 

(4.)  Before  beginning  the  construction  of  the  Programme, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  make  out  a  list  of  the  recitations  for 
each  grade,  annexing  to  each  the  amount  of  time  desirable 
for  the  recitation,  also  the  number  of  recitations  or  exercises 
of  any  one  kind  to  be  held  with  any  class  in  a  day. 

I  will  give  such  a  list  here  as  may  be  supposed  to  be  ap- 
plicable to  almost  any  of  your  prospective  schools : 

ALLOTMENTS. 


Trial.         Corrected 
Minutes.         Minutes 

Arithmetic,  advanced  class 40  35 

Arithmetic,  intermediate  class 30  25 

Arithmetic,  primary  class 25  15 

Grammar,  advanced  class 40  30 

Grammar,  primary  class 25  15 

Geography,  advanced  and  intermediate  classes 50  35 

Geography,  primary  class 20  15 

Reading  and  Spelling,  advanced  class 40  25 

Reading  and  Spelling,  intermediate  class 30  15 

2  Reading  and  Spelling,  primary  class,  each  20 40  30 

4  A,  B,  C,  exercises,  each  10 40  40 

Book-keeping  or  Algebra 50  40 

Recess 40  40 

General  Exercises 10  10 

Penmanship 30  30 

8h:40m.  6h:40rn. 

I  find  in  adding  the  column  of  trial  allotments  of  time, 
all  of  which  are  too  meagre,  the  programme  will  require 
eight  hours  and  forty  minutes.  I  cannot  work  over  seven 
hours  per  day  in  the  school  room  without  loss  of  animal  vigor 
and  spiritual  vivacity.  So  I  shall  have  to  cut  down  the  sev- 
eral allotments  and  reduce  my  entire  time  including  Relig- 
ious Exercises,  General  Exercises  and  Extra  Class  to  seven 
hours- 

I  have  given  in  the  second  column  the  corrected  allot- 
ments and  reduce  the  time  to  six  hours  and  forty  minutes. 
Now  I  am  ready  to  make  a  programme.  It  will  be  better  to 


174 


LECTUKE   XIV. 


arrange  ,ne  several   recitations  and  drills  first;    and  after 
wards,  arrange  the  times  of  study. 

If  I  could  have  an  assistant  how  much  better  work  I  could 
do.  But  I  must  submit  to  the  circumstances  and  make  the 
best  of  them. 

This  programme  which  I  give  here  will  not  be  adapted 
precisely  to  any  school,  probably^,  but  with  some  slight  mod- 
ifications it  will  be  suitable  for  almost  any  ungraded  school 
with  only  one  teacher,  provided  the  pupils  are  all  well  sup 
plied  with  text-books. 

This  ungraded  school,  so  called,  thrown  into  four  grades, 
A,  B,  C,  and  D  Grades  as  before  explained  in  this  lecture ; 
and  my  programme  must  provide  for  the  constant  employ- 
ment of  every  grade  and  every  pupil  in  every  grade,  during 
every  moment  of  the  school  hours,  save  recess. 


TIME. 

A  Grade. 

B  Grade. 

C  Grade. 

D  Grade. 

Time 
of  con- 
tin'ce. 

From. 

To. 

8:45 

9:00 

RELIGIOUS 

EXERCISES. 

GENERAL 

EXERCISES. 

15 

9:00 

902 

EOLL 

CALL. 

• 

2 

9:02 

9:30 

Geoff'y. 

Geog'y. 

Merit.  Arith. 

Blocks. 

28 

9:30 
9:45 

9:45 
10:00 

Book-keep'g 
Book  keep'g. 

Geography. 
Grammar- 

Ment.o4.viih. 

Ment.  Arith. 

Blocks. 
Blocks. 

15 
15 

10:00 

10:10 

REC 

ESS. 

10 

10-10  10:20 

Book-keep'g. 

Grammar. 

Ment.  Arith. 

Heading. 

10 

10  :20i  10:45 

Book-keep'g. 

Arith'tic. 

Read&  Spell. 

Slates. 

25 

10:45 

11:00 

Arithmetic. 

Arithmetic. 

Read  &  Spelt. 

Slates. 

15 

11:00 

11:10 

REG 

ESS. 

10 

11:10 

11:20 

Arithmetic. 

Arithmetic. 

Geography. 

Reading. 

10 

11:20 

12:00 

Ar  ith'  tic. 

Arithmetic. 

Geography. 

Dismissed. 

40 

1:00 

1:30 

Pen'p. 

Fen'p. 

Pen'p. 

Slates. 

30 

1:30 

1:45 

Arithmetic. 

Read  &  Spell. 

Geoy'y. 

Blocks. 

15 

1:15 

2:00 

Grammar. 

ftead  &  Spell. 

Geography, 

Blocks. 

15 

2-00 

2:10 

REG 

ESS. 

10 

2:10 

2:20 

Grammar. 

Grammar. 

Read  &  Spell. 

Reading. 

10 

2:20 

2:45 

Grammar. 

Grammar. 

Read  &  Spell. 

Slates. 

25 

.2:45 

3:00 

Grammar. 

Grammar. 

Head  &  Spell. 

Slates. 

15 

3:00 

3:10 

REG 

ESS. 

10 

3:10 

3:20 

Read&  Spell. 

Geography. 

Ment.  Arith. 

Reading. 

10 

'3:20 

3:45 

Head  &  Spelt. 

Geography. 

Ment.  Arith. 

Dismissed. 

35 

3:55 

4:09 

ROLL  CALL 

AND  SINGING. 

5 

4:00 

4:50 

Sook-ktep  '(?. 

Dismissed. 

Dismissed. 

Dismissed. 

50 

EXPLANATIONS  OF  THE  PROGRAMME. 

(1.)  The  consecutive  exercises  of  each  grade  arc  given  in 
the  appropriate  column. 

(2.)  The  recitations  are  given  in  bold-faced  type. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  175 

(3.)  The  study  hours  are  given  in  common  typt> 
(4.)  All  general  exercises  are  given  in  capitals. 
(5.)  The  times  of  beginning  and  ending  each  exercise  and 
its  continuance  are  given  in  the  time  columns 

REMARKS  ON  THE  PROGRAMME. 

(1.)  ft  will  be  noticed  that  the  study  times  of  every  pupil 
are  as  carefully  provided  for  as  the  recitations. 

(2.)  In  order  that  every  class  may  make  immediate  use 
of  the  preliminary  drill  given  in  every  recitation  to  enable 
the  pupil  to  work  at  his  next  lesson  with  interest  and  success, 
some  time  for  studying  every  branch  is  allotted  as  soon  after 
every  recitation  as  is  practicable,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Reading  and  Spelling  Exercises,  and  the  Geography  for  the 
A  grade. 

(3.)  It  is  supposed  that  the  A  grade  will  study  their  Geog 
raphy  lesson  at  home.     If  this  is  impracticable  in  any  case 
the  pupil  may  be  excused  from  the  study  of  Geography  or 
from  the  study  of  the  extra  branch,  Book-keeping,  as  given 
here. 

(4.)  If  the  teacher  finds  that  a  change  of  time  is  needed 
in  order  to  give  more  time  to  any  particular  subjf  ct  he  can  gen 
erally  make  the  change  on  the  programme  for  any  one  grade 
without  disturbing  other  grades.  But  he  ought  always  to 
make  the  change  clearly  on  the  programme,  at  the  time  he 
orders  it,  for  any  class 

(5.)  It  will  be  found  necessary  to  write  out  for  the  use  of 
the  school  on  the  second  day  two  programmes  at  least ; 
one  for  the  teacher  and  one  for  the  monitor.  It  will  be  well 
also  for  each  pupil,  to  copy  the  programme  for  his  own  grade, 
with  the  exception  of  the  D  grade. 

5.  The  Teacher  will  find  it  imperatively  necessary  to  work 
closely  by  his  programme.     The  temptation  will  be,  continu- 
ally, to  hold  on  to  recitations  too  long,  and  thus,  some  reci- 
tations, or  spme  recess  will  have  to  be  omitted,  or  the  school 
detained  beyond  the  hour  of  dismission,  all  of  which  will 
work  very  badly,  every  way,  as  the  teacher  will  soon  dis- 
cover. 

6.  The  teacher  will  find  it  a  great  relief  to  appoint  a  MON- 
ITOR for  every  half  day,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  announce 
the  time  either  five  minutes  or  ten  minutes  before  closing 
each  of  the  longer  recitations.     This  is  in  order  to  give  the 
teacher  time  for  preliminary  drill,  or  to  announce  the  extent 
and  character  of  the  next  lesson  for  the  class  within  the  time 
prescribed  for  this  present  recitation.     The  choice  of  moni- 
tors may  be  made  as  a  matter  of  honor ;  no  one  being  com- 


176  LECTUKE   XIV. 

pelled  to  serve  ;  or  the  pupils  of  the  A  and  B  grades  may 
be  appointed  in  regular  rotation,  each  to  act  only  for  a  half 
day  at  one  time. 

An  earnest  enthusiastic  teacher  will  find  this  kind  of 
monitorial  system  almost  a  necessity.  It  will  operate  infi- 
nitely better  in  keeping  order  and  preventing  whispering, 
though  the  monitor  is  expected  to  give  his  entire  attention 
to  the  time  of  the  programme  and  his  own  studies,  and  know 
nothing  of  the  diligence  or  order  of  other  pupils,  tnan  that 
of  appointing  a  monitor  to  watch  oifenders  and  record  their 
names.  It  is  seen  that  the  Normal  monitor  is  no  spy  on 
the  actions  of  his  fellow  pupils,  his  duty  is  to  keep  the  teach- 
er in  order,  and  if  the  teacher  comply  closely  with  the  moni- 
tor's announcements,  the  very  spirit  of  good  order  is  estab 
lished  in  that  school  room  and  scarcely  any  other  rules  and 
regulations  will  be  found  necessary.  The  respect  which  the 
teacher  shows  for  the  programme  can  hardly  fail  to  inspire 
the  school  with  like  respect  and  with  a  love  of  good  order 
generally. 

7.  It  will  require  some  attention  of  the  teacher  for  the 
first  few  days,  to  keep  the  different  grades  at  their  appropri- 
ate work,  according  to  the  programme,  during  their  study 
hours,  but  the  proper  use  of  time  during  study  hours  is  more 
important  for  the  pupil  if  possible  than  during  recitation. 
Very  few,  if  any,  variations  from  the  regular  programme 
should  be  granted  to  individual  pupils. 

8.  No  studying  together  from  the  same  book  should  be 
tolerated.     It  is  an  open  gate  for  all  irregularity.     Every  pu 
pil  should  have  his  own  full  supply  of  books  to  use  for  him 
self,  at  the  time  assigned  to  his  grade  on  the  programme. 

9.  If  pupils  do  not  master  their  lessons  during  the  time 
assigned,  do  not  let  that  be  given  or  taken  as  a  reason  why 
the  time  of  some  other  branch  should  be  used,  in  any  indi 
vidual  case,  but  rather  modify  the  next  lesson,  or  make  a 
cUa.nge  in  the  programme  for  the  wrhole  grade. 

10.  It  will  be  objected  to  such  a  programme,  that  some 
are  more  apt  in  one  study,  and  some  in  others ;    and  hence 
some  pupil  in  a  given  grade  will  require  much  more  time,  for 
instance,  in  Arithmetic,  than  another,  while  he  requires  much 
less  in  Grammar  perhaps,  and  thus  it  would  be  doing  that 
individual  a  wrong  in  such  a  case  to  keep  all  to  the  same 
precise  programme.     Now,  there,  are  several  ways  to  manage 
such  a  difficulty,  without  breaking  up  the  power  of  a  regular 
programme  by  yielding  to  every  individual  caprice  and  de- 
mand for  special  deviations  from  the  general  programme. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  177 

(1.)  The  pupil  can  study  that  branch  in  which  he  finds 
himself  behind  his  class,  at  home,  out  of  school  hours. 

(2.)  He  must  be  encouraged  to  think  that,  considering  his 
previous  opportunities  and  advancement,  he  is  doing  well, 
even  if  he  does  not  master  the  whole  lesson ;  and  the  next 
time  he  goes  over  the  subject  he  will  in  all  probability  lead 
the  class. 

(3.)  He  can  be  assigned  to  a  lower  grade,  at  least,  in  the 
particular  branch  in  which  he  is  most  defective. 

(4.)  He  can  be  permitted  to  omit  one  of  the  studies  oi 
his  grade  and  thus  be  allowed  the  time  of  the  omitted  study 
for  the  branch  in  which  he  is  deficient. 

(5.)  The  proper  arrangement  of  the  recitation,  in  the 
matter  of  preliminary  drill,  and  in  dividing  the  class  into  a 
more  advanced  and  less  advanced  section,  thus  requiring  no 
more  of  each  pupil  than  he  can  well  do,  is  the  proper  remedy 
for  this  difficulty,  and  can  hardly  fail  if  well  managed  to  con- 
vert the  difficulty  into  a  real  advantage  both  for  the  backward 
pupil,  and  for  his  class.  But  he  can  be  assigned  extra  duty  in 
the  subject  in  which  he  is  more  advanced. 

11.  The  introduction  and  explanation  of  this  programme 
on  the  second  morning  of  school  will  consume  some  time ; 
opportunity  must  be  given  for  each  pupil  to  copy  his  part  ot 
the  programme  for  his  own  guidance,  and  the  proper  arrange- 
ment for  monitors  may  be  made  at  once. 

It  will  be  well  then,  to  set  aside  that  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme for  this  day  whose  time  is  consumed  in  general  ar- 
rangements, and  commence  at  that  part  of  the  programme 
which  the  time  of  day  has  reached.  Lessons  must  be  as- 
signed, in  making  general  arrangements,  for  those  studies  in 
the  programme  whose  recitations  have  been  omitted.  Thus 
careful  provision  must  be  made  for  full  employment  of  every 
pupil  on  this  most  trying  day  of  school,  or  disorder  will  make 
such  headway  as  will  be  difficult  to  overcome  in  many  days. 

12.  The  reading  and  spelling  exercises  have  been  con- 
densed into  one  exercise,  through  the  entire  programme.     The 
time  may  be  divided  at  each  exercise  or  one  exercise  may  be 
given  to  reading  and  the  next  to  spelling  and  so  on  alter- 
nately. 


12 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


LECTURE   XV. 


NORMAL    METHODS    OF    INCITING    TO    DILIGENCE 
AND  ORDER. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


There  are  various  courses  pursued  by  different  classes  of 
teachers  who  use  the  force  methods,  for  introducing  and 
establishing  order  and  compelling  diligent  study.  I  shall 
notice  one  or  two. 

1.  The  Directors  draw  up  a  set  of  rules,  and  require  the 
teacher  to  enforce  them,  as  a  part  of  his  contract. 

Any  such  system  of  rules  or  regulations,  however  good  in 
themselves,  will,in  most  cases,  in  a  great  measure  defeat  the 
ends  they  are  intended  to  secure,when  introduced  simply  by  the 
authority  of  Directors  and  enforced  by  the  watchfulness  and 
coercion  of  the  teacher.  Out  of  prison,  no  laws  that  are  not 
appreciated  and  sustained  by  the  governed,  can  be  enforced 
to  any  good  moral  effect. 

And  any  endeavors  that  seem  to  be  successful  in  any  de- 
gree in  carrying  out  a  code  of  school  laws  that  do  no'c  re- 
ceive the  full  and  hearty  sanction  of  the  pupils,  only  seem 
so,  because  that  school  is  a  prison,  in  its  discipline. 

2.  Another  plan  is  for  the  teacher  to  draw  up  a  set  of 
rules  with  or  without  the  consent  of  the  Directors,  to  read 
fhem  at  the  opening  of  the  school,  and  demand  strict  obedi- 

178 


SCHOOL,    MANAGEMENT. 

once  from  every  pupil,  under  the  penalties  of  flogging,  impris- 
onment, or  expulsion.  This  plan  generally  works  better  than 
the  first,  as  the  teacher  is  probably  more  careful  in  construct- 
ing a  code  of  laws,  the  enforcement  of  which  he  feels  will  be 
difficult  enough  at  the  best. 

3.  The  more  common  course  is  for  the  teacher  to  begin 
school  with  no  well  defined  plan  of  procedure,  trusting  to 
luck  or  some  other  equally  reliable  power  for  the  govern- 
ment of  his  school.  This  teacher,  not  unfrequently,  promul- 
gates half  a  dozen  laws  in  a  day  for  days  in  succession, 
and  presently  finds  that  his  laws  and  his  own  personal  author- 
ity are  both  treated  with  contempt  and  ridicule.  Such  a 
teacher  is  generally  blamed  for  "not  beginning  right ;  for  not 
putting  down  the  laws  at  the  start.  He  was  too  easy,  he  let 
the  school  get  ahead  of  him,"  say  the  Directors.  The  pupils 
all  say  that  "He  was  too  cross,  he  was  scolding  all  the  time, 
he  couldn't  find  time  to  do  any  thing  else."  I  might  continue 
this  enumeration  of  futile  and  mischievous  plans  or  want  of 
plans  in  establishing  order  and  diligence,  indefinitely ;  but 
these  will  suffice,  I  think,  to  show  that  all  such  measures  are 
abnormal,  and  defeat  the  true  objects  and  aims  of  school 
management,  which  are  the  promoting  of  the  GOOD  HABITS 
of  cheerful  industry,  all-conquering  thoroughness,  orderly 
disposition  of  time  and  labor  and  the  practice  of  useful  ac- 
tivity. 

Who  cannot  see  that  any  plan  of  school  government  with 
any  system  of  laws  or  no  system  of  laws,  carried  out  mainly 
by  authority  and  coercion,  will  most  surely  defeat  every  one 
of  these  ends,  and  of  necessity  fix  the  opposite  class  of  hab- 
its, viz. :  hatred  of  work,  shallowness  and  shirking  in  study, 
love  of  mischief,  and  increasing  delight  in  tricks  and  mean- 
ness at  the  expense  of  the  teacher. 

Now,  if  any  teacher  who  is  pursuing  any  such  plan  and 
is  feeling  more  and  more  that  teaching  is  a  very  wearing  and 
disagreeable  business,  and  that  he  intends  to  get  out  of  it 
iust  as  soon  as  he  can  find  anything  else  to  do  ;  let  me  ask 
him,  if  I  can  reach  his  ear  or  his  eye,  whether,  if  he  were  a 
pupil  under  just  such  government  as  he  is  attempting  to  ad- 
minister, he  would  not  himself  be  one  of  the  worst  and 
most  troublesome.  He  will  answer,  if  he  is  candid,  "Of 
course  I  would.  I  always  used  to  keep  up  my  end,  when  I 
attended  school/'  And  yet  that  same  teacher  pursues 
that  same  course,  which  nearly  ruined  him,  and  made 
most  of  the  schools  he  ever  attended  failures.  It  has  been 
my  purpose  in  these  lectures  to  break  up  this  line  of  heredi- 
tary descent,  in  which  each  successive  teacher  becomes 


J80  LECTURE   XV. 

more  pernicious  than  his  predecessor;  and  I  may  express 
rny  thankfulness,  that  so  many  hundreds  and  thousands  have 
gone  forth  from  these  training  exercises  with  the  spirit  of 
these-  lectures,  and  reported  ere  long  that  they  enjoy  teach- 
ing, and  not  a  few,  every  year,  declare,  by  letter  or  other- 
wise, each  for  himself,  or  for  herself,  "I  have  the  best  schoc] 
I  ever  saw;  1  am  just  perfectly  delighted  with  my  school,  1 
have  the  best  scholars,  I  love  every  one  of  them.7' 

Now,  friends,  I  wish  you  to  contrast  the  declarations  of 
the  abnormal  teachers  with  those  of  the  genuine  Normal 
Teacher.  Nor  do  I  assume  that  every  one  that  attends  here 
a  term  or  more  and  goes  forth  to  teach,  is  able  or  willing  to 
adopt  Normal  methods  and  principles.  Some  haven't  the 
natural  ability,  or,  in  other  words,  the  qualification  of  com- 
mon sense.  Very  many  do  not  remain  here  long  enough  to 
obtain  the  requisite  knowledge  of  the  branches  or  of  the 
methods.  Some  are  too  far  gone  in  vicious  physical  or  mor- 
al habits  to  receive,  or  even  to  appreciate  Normal  methods,or 
to  drink  in  the  genial  spirit  of  good  will  and  earnest  applica- 
tion, which  so  generally  pervades  this  school.  I  do  not  claim, 
by  any  means,  that  every  Normal  Student  will  make  a  good 
Normal  Teacher,  or  that  every  person  even  of  fair  natural 
abilities  can  adopt  Normal  methods  in  his  own  self-manage- 
ment, or  in  the  management  of  others.  It  would  be  worse 
than  vain  and  foolish  in  me  to  do  so,  it  would  be  criminal. 

But  this  I  do  claim,  that  multitudes  (and  large  numbers, 
too,  possessing  no  extraordinary  mental  capacity)  who  have 
been  trained  here,  and  elsewhere,  in  genuine  Normal  meth- 
ods, have  been  revolutionized  in  all  their  ideas  and  practices 
of  school  management,  and  so  far  from  feeling  that  teaching 
is  a  burden  and  a  drag,  have  learned  to  feel  that  the  busi- 
ness is  their  pride  and  their  delight. 

T.  SOME  NORMAL  METHODS  OF  INTRODUCING  DILIGENCE  AND  OR- 
DER. 

1.  WORKING  BY  A  PROGRAMME. 

There  will  undoubtedly  be  some  difficulty  in  bringing  all 
the  pupils  in  a  school  to  see  the  advantages  of  studying  by  a 
programme,  such  having  been  the  loose,  careless  usages  in 
this  matter,  that  every  one  has  studied  any  lesson  when  he 
felt  like  it,  or  when  he  was  especially  urged  to  do  so,  by  the 
teacher.  More  frequently,  if  there  has  been  any  study  of  a 
lesson,  it  has  been  just  before  recitation  ;  whereas,  a  lesson 
should  be  studied  as  soon  as  possible  after  a  recitation,  in  or- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  181 

der  that  every  pupil  may  avail  himself,  in  the  best  possible 
manner,  of  the  instruction  and  directions  given  in  the  pre- 
liminary drill. 

To  overcome  this  difficulty  of  getting  all  the  pupils  to 
study  by  the  programme,  the  time  of  the  tirst  recitation  in 
each  branch  must  be  given  in. part  to  such  explanations  of 
the  method  of  conducting  the  recitations,  as  will  show  the 
necessity  and  advantage  of  the  plan  proposed. 

(1.)  It  should  be  stated  that  as  the  time  of  the  teacher  is 
fully  occupied  in  the  several  recitations,  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  give  any  aid  to  pupils  during  study  hours,  in 
getting  their  lesson.  The  preliminary  drill,  if  properly  at- 
tended to  by  the  pupil  will  enable  him  to  master  his  lesson 
without  further  aid  from  the  teacher;  and  it  is  not  expect- 
ed that  pupils  will  study  with  each  other,  or  get  help  from 
each  other.  Every  pupil  needs  all  his  time  to  accomplish 
his  own  work,'  and  may  not  be  interrupted  by  giving  or  seek- 
ing aid  from  another :  besides,  studying  together  is  incompat- 
ible with  good  order  and  truly  independent  and  self-reliant 
development. 

(2.)  Then,  a  preliminary  drill  on  some  part  of  the  branch 
under  consideration  should  be  given;  such  as  will  arouse  in- 
terest, excite  curiosity,  and  make  it  easy  for  every  pupil  to 
engage  in  the  study  of  the  branch  at  the  time  prescribed  on 
the  programme.  Nay,  if  a  preliminary  drill  is  conducted 
with  any  skill  and  spirit  in  any  branch,  the  difficulty  will  be 
in  keeping  the  pupils  from  working  at  the  lesson  before  the 
prescribed  time,  but  this  can  be  managed. 

2.  TRAINING  THE  WILL  INTO  GOOD  HABITS. 

I  feel  compelled  to  dwell  here  for  a  moment  on  the  Nor- 
mal method  of  training  the  will.  The  will  as  an  educational 
force  is  too  often  lost  sight  of,  or  it  is  viciously  assumed,  ad 
in  breaking  (not  training)  colts,  that  the  will  must  be  broken. 
Now,  I  affirm,  that  a  broken  will  makes  a  spiritless  or  a 
vicious  animal,  whether  it  be  a  colt  or  a  boy. 

The  will  is  trained  by  a  skillful  horseman,  not  broken.  So 
the  true  teacher  can  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  the 
will  is  tl\e  force  which  is  to  be  guided  and  determined,  incited 
and  energized  to  choose,  to  prefer,  and  to  work  in  correct  and 
useful  action,  rather  than  to  be  roused  to  resist  and  then 
crushed ;  and  no  teacher  should  feel  satisfied  with  his  own 
influence  on  a  pupil,  while  he  sees  that  the  pupil's  will  is  not 
won,  and  it  is  not  his  choice  to  work,  and  to  work  with  laud- 
able aims  and  real  satisfaction  in  the  school  plans.  Some 
few  teachers,  very  few,  seem  to  have  an  intuitive  gift  in  this 


182  LECTUEE   XV. 

regard.  Their  pupils  seem,  at  once,  to  prefer  to  do  anything 
they  may  request;  but  the  majority  of  us,  teachers,  find  it 
necessary  to  study  HUMAN  NATURE  in  the  boys  and  girls,  that 
we  may  know  how  to  determine  their  choice  for  the  true, 
beautiful,  and  good,  as  involved  in  our  plans,  as  worked  out  in 
our  methods,  and  as  aimed  at  .in  all  our  arrangements. 

In  my  opinion,  the  first  lesson  we  have  to  learn  is  not  to 
excite  antagonism,  but  to  forestall  it,  and  bring  its  energy,  in 
other  words  the  will  power  of  the  individual,  to  woik  in  our 
favor  instead  of  against  us.  To  this  end  we  must  present 
stronger  inducements  for  virtuous  action  in  carrying  out  our 
plans,  than  possibly  can  exist  in  the  minds  and  habits  of  the 
pupils  against  them. 

(1.)  Now,  in  avoiding  the  senseless  repulsive  routine  of 
memorizing  and  repeating  lessons,  and  of  requiring  such  use- 
less and  tedious  labor,  one  chief  difficulty  is  removed,  that 
is  so  often  effectual  in  exciting  antagonism,  or  at  least  in  pro- 
ducing listlessness  and  indifference  to  school  work,  and  decided 
aversion  to  the  school  itself. 

(2.)  In  avoiding  the  assigning  of  any  lesson  without  suffi- 
cient explanation  and  previous  drill  to  enable  every  pupil  to 
accomplish  the  work  assigned  without  discouragement  and 
consequent  idleness  and  mischief,  another  very  prevalent 
difficulty  is  removed. 

(3.)  In  exciting  so  much  interest  and  enterprise  in  every 
pupil,  for  the  work  assigned,  that  he  is  as  eager  to  get  at  it 
as  if  it  were  any  game  or  play  is  indeed  carrying  the  will 
where  you  desire,  teacher,  and  this  must  for  the  most  part,  be 
relied  on  to  convert  the  Will  Power  from  indifference  or  antag 
onism  to  decided  preference  and  energetic  action  in  the  study 
and  labor  you  prescribe  for  the  pupil's  pleasure  and  progress. 
That  which  is  first  done  by  special  excitement  and  dominant 
attraction,  sooner  or  later  becomes  a  matter  of  habit,  and 
thus  in  a  measure  moves  itself.  Thus  by  careful  foresight,  by 
ingenious  contrivance,  by  patient  labor  and  continued  effort, 
teacher,  you  or  I  may  accomplish  the  transformation  of  a 
mind,  a  heart,  yes,  a  life,  from  habits  of  laziness,  opposition 
to  all  good  and  noble  action,  into  habits  of  thrift,  energy, 
and  benevolence.  What  true  teacher  can  aim  at,  or  desire 
less  ?  But  no  one  else  can  reach  many  of  these  young  per- 
sons, and  save  them,  but  the  teacher  in  his  school  work. 

Caution  in   Training    Will. 

Let  me  give  one  caution,  here.  There  is  no  worse  way  to 
train  a  will  to  determined  evil  action,  than  to  demand,  exact 
and  compel  good  action.  No  really  good  act  can  be  jar- 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  183 

formed  under  compulsion.  Every  one  knows  it,  feels  it  in 
his  own  case.  Every  one  is  ready  to  declare  in  any  particu- 
lar case  of  exaction  made  upon  him  or  her.  "I  would  do  it,  and 
do  it  willingly,  if  he  didn't  try  to  make  me  do  it.  Now  I 
won't  do  it  if  1  can  help  it."  So, Teacher,  let  us  always  try 
to  work  by  attraction, never  by  compulsion. 

Another  Caution  ^n  Training  the  Will. 

Whenever  you  have  shown  the  propriety  of  any  particular 
course  that  you  have  requested  or  required;  and  much  more, 
when  you  have  shown  that  the  opposite  course  is  morally 
wrong,  do  not  by  any  means,  in  a  single  case  yield  your  claims 
to  parleying,  teasing  or  coaxing.  Demonstrate,  establish 
your  firmness,  your  immoveable  fixedness  in  your  regard  for 
your  own  convictions  of  right.  Show  your  pupils  in  all  such 
case?  that  your  conscience  is  a  sovereign  power,  and  though 
they  may  not  yield  to  your  arguments  or  persuasions,  do  not, 
I  beg,  make  yourself  a  partaker  in  any  course  of  action  that 
you  have  felt  is  wrong,  and  that  you  have  characterized  as 
such.  One  such  case,  however  trivial,  or  however  well  ex- 
plained away,  diminishes  the  confidence  of  all  in  your  moral 
integrity;  and  your  moral  and  religious  influence  is  very 
much  weakened,  if  not  entirely  destroyed.  How  many  a 
mother  has  ruined  her  wayward  child  by  first  forbidding, 
then  arguing,  then  consenting,  then  apologizing  for  an  act, 
rather, a  long  series  of  acts  that  the  boy  well  knows  his 
mother's  judgment  and  conscience  utterly  condemn.  His 
will  gains  increased  energy  for  wrong  every  time  he  wins  in 
such  a  conflict,  and  that  mother  can  devise  no  more  ef- 
fectual method  of  training  her  darling's  will  to  resist  all  rea- 
son and  right,  and  make  him  the  bound  slave  of  appetite, 
than  the  one  she  is  pursuing. 

Now,  Teacher,  every  time  you  win  with  a  child,  in  help- 
ing him  to  assert  the  power  of  will  in  any  right  action,  or 
course  of  action,  that  will  is  being  more  or  less  effectively 
1  rained  into  the  habit  of  right  action,  and  the  easier  will  ev- 
ery successive  victory  become  in  the  conflict  with  laziness 
or  lust,  not  in  school  only,  but  in  after  life. 

By  a  beautiful  provision  in  our  natures,  the  contro]  of  tho 
will  becomes  less  and  less  difficult  in  every  effort  till  all  dif- 
ficulty is  at  length  lost  in  a  fixed  habit  of  virtuous  action  in 
any  given  direction. 

A  Precaution  in  Training  the  Will. 

You  will  never  succeed  in  managing  a  bad  boy  if  he  has 
any  suspition  that  you  are  afraid  of  him.  You  must  have 


184  LECTURE   XV. 

his  respect.  If  he  thinks  you  are  weak,  or  are  a  coward,  you 
can  not.  Almost  any  such  boy  or  young  man  is  very  likely, 
too,  to  interpret  every  act  of  conciliation  on  your  part,  into 
an  admission  of  fear,  or  an  exhibition  of  cowardice.  This 
fact  must  be  met  decisively,  or  you  will  never  succeed  in 
subduing  a  rebel,  and  winning  him  to  friendship. 

Any  such  bad  boy  or  young  man  is  a  bully,  and  of  course 
a  coward.  He  is  easily  intimidated,  if  not  in  a  combination 
with  others  who  are  backing  him ;  but  he  is  not  very  easily 
won  to  anything  that  he  thinks  is  tainted  with  right,  and 
especially  that  kind  of  right  which  shows  submission  to  a 
"school  master."  His  only  boast  is  in  his  meanness  and  hog- 
gishness.  This  will  continue  as  long  as  he  can  find  anybody 
to  listen  to  him  and  laugh  at  him.  You  discover,  teacher,  or 
very  probably  you  will  quite  soon  enough,  that  you  have  to 
break  up  the  confederacy  of  bullyism  in  your  school  before 
you  can  have  success  with  any  particular  ruffian,  bully,  cow- 
ard or  hog,  for  the  same  individual  is  all  of  these,  and  glories 
in  it ;  and  it's  all  the  pride  or  ambition  that  he  knows  or  feels. 
The  management  of  such  cases  is  generally  easy  enough 
by  the  Normal  method  of  commencing  and  organizing  a 
school  as  given  in  the  last  lecture.  This  method  in  fact  fore- 
stalls all  such  difficulties.  They  seldom  or  never  make  their 
appearance.  The  fact  that  you  have  the  power  of  suspend- 
ing any  such  hard  cases  until  action  of  the  Directors  can  be 
had,  if  judiciously  used,  will  be  one  means  to  hold  such  das- 
tardly spirits  in  check  until  you  can  win  them  by  better 
measures. 

II.    How  SHALL  LAWS  BE  INTRODUCED? 

They  can  not  be  well  introduced,  (1.)  by  authority  of 
Directors;  nor  (2.)  by  authority  and  coercive  power  of  the 
teacher.  (3.)  No  law  should  be  introduced  when  the  teacher 
is  in  a  special  excitement  from  the  disorder  or  insubordina- 
tion of  any  particular  pupil  or  pupils.  Such  a  law  could 
hardly  have  the  assent  or  support  of  the  majority  of  the  gov- 
erned, without  which  any  law  will  prove  an  evil  by  provok- 
ing a  general  spirit  of  insubordination  and  rebellion.  (4.) 
No  law  should  be  introduced  till  the  majority  of  the  school 
can  see  that  it  is  necessary,  and  that  their  comfort  and  pro- 
gress in  the  school  can  be  improved  by  its  enactment.  (5.) 
The  teacher  must  admit  that  the  necessity  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  any  law  as  law,  with  its  penalty,  (for  no  law  is  of  any 
force  without  its  penalty)  is  but  a  confession  at  least  to  him- 
self that  he  lacks  the  requisite  personal  influence  aftd  mental 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  185 

activity  to  control  his  school  without  law.  Some  other  per- 
son might  do  it,  but  he  can  not.  Still  that  teacher  will  pre^ 
fer  to  secure  order  and  good  feeling  by  means  of  one  or  more 
definite  laws  and  the  enforcement  of  their  penalties,  than  to 
permit  disorder  and  lawlessness  to  prevail,  thus  losing  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  school  altogether. 

To  illustrate  a  wrong  and  a  right  way  of  introducing  a  law, 
I  shall  give  two  examples  of  establishing  a  law  against  whis 
pering  or  communication  between  pupils  on  study  and  reci 
tation  seats. 

Example  1.     Establishing  a  Law. 

The  teacher  is  engaged  in  the  recitation  of  the  primary 
Geography  class,  we  will  suppose.  He  is  compelled  frequently 
during  the  recitation  to  check  the  whispering  of  some  of  the 
older  pupils  in  their  study  seats.  They  are  studying  together, 
or  otherwise  communicating,  and  some  of  the  most  in- 
fluential pupils,  are  engaged  in  this  form  of  disorder,  re- 
gardless of  the  repeated  request  of  the  teacher  that  the  pupils 
would  each  study  by  himself  or  herself,  and  not  communi- 
cate even  about  their  studies  during  study  hours. 

The  recitation  is  at  length  laid  aside,  and  the  teacher,  feel- 
ing very  much  annoyed,  attempts  to  present  the  necessity  of 
a  law  against  whispering;  speaks  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
has  been  interrupted,  and  says  uthe  evil  is  increasing  to  such 
an  extent  that  very  much  of  the  time  and  energy  is  diverted 
from  the  recitation,  and  thus  no  recitation  is  as  interesting 
as  it  might  be,  if  he  were  permitted  to  attend  to  it  uninter- 
ruptedly." Now,  is  it  not  plain,  that  even  if  the  teacher 
should  without  exhibiting  any  particular  irritation,  try  to  win 
the  general  assent  of  the  school  to  such  a  law  under  such 
circumstances  he  would  be  likely  to  fail,  at  least,  in  arousing 
a  general  and  hearty  determination  to  stand  by  it,  and  carry 
it  through  ?  Why  ?  Because  some  of  the  most  influential 
pupils  can  not  but  feel  that  they  are  chargeable  with  the 
necessity  of  the  law ;  they  have  provoked  the  teacher  to  say 
that  he  can  not  work  any  longer  with  so  much  interruption. 
Hence  the  co-operation  of  those  whom  you  most  desire  to 
win,  is  but  feeble,  if  given  at  all.  Here  is  want  of  tact. 

Example  2. — Establishing  a  Law. 

Let  us  suppose  the  teacher  is  engaged  in  the  recitation 
of  the  advanced  Grammar  class,  that  he  is  frequently  inter- 


186  LECTURE   XV. 

rupted  by  the  communication  and  disorder  of  pupils  in  infe- 
rior grades,  and  thus  he  is  compelled  to  stop  his  recitation 
over  and  over  again,  and  give  his  attention  to  disorderly 
pupils  in  the  study  seats,  and  request  them  to  be  quiet,  and 
each  attend  to  his  own  study. 

Now, if  there  has  been  any  degree  of  interest  excited  in 
that  branch,  the  members  of  the  class  will  feel  annoyed  at 
these  frequent  interruptions.  They  see  that  their  privileges 
are  very  much  abridged,  and  they  are  sustaining  a  real  and 
heavy  loss  by  these  interruptions.  Now,  if  for  the  protec- 
tion of  this  class  of  leading  pupils  in  their  recitation,  as  well 
as  for  the  greater  interest  which  may  be  imparted  to  the  rec- 
itations of  all  the  classes,  provided  they  can  go  on  without 
interruption,  the  necessity  and  advantage  of  a  law  against 
communication  be  presented,  the  hearty  co-operation  of  all 
the  more  influential  pupils  can  readily  be  secured.  They  do 
not  now  feel  that  the  law  is  aimed  particularly  at  them,  and 
made  for  their  especial  restraint. 

Under  such  circumstances,  and  with  such  management  I 
have  never  found  any  difficulty  in  winning  the  vote  of  a  large 
majority  in  favor  of  such  a  law. 

Fixing  a  Penalty. 

But  the  next  thing  is  the  penalty ;  for  no  prohibitory  law 
can  be  effective  without  a  penalty.  In  fact,  a  prohibitory 
law  without  a  penalty  is  worse  than  no  law,  for  it  soon  brings 
itself  and  all  other  law  into  contempt. 

The  penalty  should  be  as  light  and  as  gentle  as  can  be 
selected,  and  yet  be  recognized  as  a  penalty.  A  severe  pen- 
alty is  difficult  to  enforce,  and  when  enforced  always  excites 
the  sympathy  of  the  governed  towards  the  offender  rather 
than  feeling  against  him  for  breaking  the  law. 

Neither  will  it  answer  for  the  teacher  to  use  his  discre- 
tion in  imposing  or  withholding  the  penalty.  It  must 
work  with  inevitable  certainty,  or  the  hope  of  escape  is  but 
an  incitement  to  infraction  of  the  law.  The  best  general 
penalty  I  have  been  able  to  devise  for  violation  of  school  law 
is  privation  of  recess,  by  the  pupil's  retaining  his  seat  and 
communicating  with  no  one  during  recess. 

I  would  secure  a  full  and  hearty  vote  if  practicable  for 
this  penalty,  while  the  matter  of  the  law  is  under  discussion, 
and  I  would  also  state  that  "any  pupil  who  is  deprived  of 
his  recess  can  be  out  if  he  desire  it  two  minutes  after  the 
recess,  but  only  one  pupil  can  be  out  at  a  time."  I  can  read- 
ily see,  Teachers,  that  you  can  raise  various  objections  to  this 


SCHOOL,   MANAGEMENT.  187 

plan  so  briefly  stated  for  introducing  a  law  or  a  series  of 
laws.  But  the  necessity  of  having  the  full  and  hearty  assent 
and  co-operation  of  the  large  majority  of  a  school  in  sustain- 
ing any  law  or  code  of  laws,  is  manifest  if  you  would  have  a 
Normal  method  of  government.  To  my  mind  any  govern- 
ment based  on  force  and  executed  without  the  consent  of  the 
large  majority  of  the  governed  is  abnormal,  is  tyranny;  and 
so  far  as  school  or  college  government  is  concerned  can  work 
nothing  but  evil.  If  any  have  lived,  as  pupils  under  such  law 
and  have  derived  advantage  from  the  school  or  college  whose 
government  was  carried  on  by  force  and  suspicion,  the  ad- 
vantage was  derived  in  spite  of  the  government  and  not  as  a 
result  of  it. 

Enacted  Law  an  Alternative,  and  the  Least  of  two  Evils. 

I  have  said  that  the  necessity  for  law  or  a  code  of  laws, 
is  an  admission  of  personal  and  strategic  weakness ;  and  even  if 
any  school  or  college  is  held  in  subjection  by  law,  and  good 
order  is  maintained  by  the  vigorous  executive  ability  of  the 
Principal  or  President ;  and  the  rigorous  imposition  of  penalties 
does  crush  down  all  disorder  and  insubordination;  and  even 
though  this  course  produces  high  per  cents  in  lessons  for  the 
time  being;  still,  any  such  government  is  with  the  majority 
of  students  pernicious  in  its  moral  influence,  and  just  so  far 
as  vigilance  is  exercised  in  ferreting  out  offenders  and  penal- 
ties applied  to  correct  offences,  just  so  far  is  any  such  gov- 
ernment feeble  and  inoperative  in  fixing  good  principles  and 
good  habits  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  governed,  whethei 
offenders  or  not.  In  every  such  instance  force  is  used  foi 
want  of  personal  influence  and  moral  power,  but  in  no  case 
is  it  an  equivalent. 

Some  years  since  a  change  of  Principals  occurred  in  the 
Baldwin  Institute.  Some  two  or  three  months  after  the  change, 
the  wife  01  one  of  the  trustees,  coming  to  the  Founder,  John 
Baldwin,  says,  "Bro.  Baldwin,  don't  you  think  it  was  a  mercy 
that  we  secured  Bro.  Harris  when  we  did;  the  Teacher  that 
resigned  would  never  have  been  able  to  govern  these  bad 
boys,  and  high-strung  young  men  that  are  here  now.  It  takes 
Bro.  Harris  to  control  them.  They  are  afraid  of  him,  and 
they  have  to  behave.  He  puts  his  foot  on  their  necks  and 
they  daren't  say  a  word.  By  expelling  the  three  that  he  did 
he  has  made  the  rest  a  good  deal  more  orderly  and  decent." 
Bro.  Baldwin  replied,  "Our  former  Principal  was  here  nine 
years  and  built  up  our  school.  He  never  had  any  bad  schol- 
ars all  the  tirae  he  was  iiere,  and  if  he  had  remained  nine 


188  LECTUEE   XV. 

years  longer  he  never  would  have  had  any  occasion  to  pun- 
ish any  wicked  young  men,  or  expel  them  from  his  school." 
In  about  a  year  that  former  teacher  was  offered  an  in- 
creased salary  to  resume  his  place  in  the  school  by  a  unani- 
mous vote  of  the  Trustees. 

Co-operation  of  Directors. 

In  my  last  lecture  I  urged  the  necessity  of  securing  the 
consent  of  the  Directors  to  decide  the  case  of  any  pupil  that 
you  were  unable  to  manage. 

If  the  promise  of  such  co-operation  be  obtained,  and  the 
power  thus  secured  be  judiciously  made  known  to  a  school, 
it  will  in  most  cases  prevent  any  necessity  for  its  use.  But 
if  you  are  compelled,  Teacher,  to  acknowledge  to  yonirself 
that  your  own  resources  are  insufficient,  it  will  be  better 
that  you  avail  yourself  of  the  aid  of  your  Directors,  in  deci- 
ding whether  the  rebellious  pupil  shall  prevail,  or  your  own 
authority. 

I  would  never  call  the  Directors,  nor  any  one  of  them  in- 
to the  school-house  during  school  hours,  to  settle  any  diffi- 
culty, nor  would  I  threaten  anything  of  the  kind.  If  you 
call  the  Directors  once,  you  will  soon  find  it  necessary  to 
call  them  again.  Your  own  authority  is  at  an  end. 

But  when  every  expedient  has  failed  and  you  feel  that 
you  can  no  longer  exercise  patience  and  kindness,  toward 
the  wayward  pupil  or  pupils,  and  that  to  do  so  would  imperil 
the  farther  progress,  and  final  success  of  the  school,  it  will 
then  be  necessary  to  suspend  the  pupil  till  a  meeting  of  the 
Directors  can  be  called  to  decide  the  case.  If  the  pupil  should 
refuse  to  comply  with  my  decision  of  suspension  I  should 
proceed  as  if  he  were  not  present;  if  he  should  undertake  to 
make  disturbance,  I  should  quell  it  or  dismiss  the  school  un- 
til the  matter  could  be  settled.  If  the  Directors  after  a  fair 
hearing  of  the  case  from  both  parties  with  witnesses  and 
parents  should  decide  me  incompetent  to  carry  on  the  school, 
of  course  this  would  end  the  matter.  But  if  they  should  de- 
cide otherwise,  and  expel  the  disorderly  pupil,  I  should  re- 
quest the  pupil  to  return  and  make  proper  acknowledgements, 
and  assure  him  that  I  was  willing  and  anxious  to  aid  him  in 
studies  and  to  do  him  any  favor  in  my  power. 

This  in  my  opinion  is  the  only  legitimate  method  of  using 
the  personal  and  legal  authority  of  the  Directors.  But  while 
a  resort  to  the  Directors  is  better  than  the  use  of  personal 
violence  on  pupils,  and  is  now  the  only  alternative  by  which 
you  can  retain  any  order  or  decency  in  the  school,  it  would 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  189 

be  a  self  degradation  that  any  truly  noble  and  generous 
nature  would  resort  to  as  a  terrible  necessity,  and  the  very 
last  expedient. 

Sympathy  of  Pupils  for  or   against  a  Law. 

When  a  law  has  been  enacted,  the  administration  of  that 
law  must  be  carried  on  with  certainty  and  yet  with  modera- 
tion. It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  make  a  good  law  odious  by 
any  rigor  that  may  seem  unnecessary  to  the  majority  ;  it  is 
still  easier  to  make  a  law  inoperative  and  a  butt  of  ridicule 
by  setting  aside  the  penalty  from  any  plea  or  pretext  that 
may  be  offered  by  the  offender.  I  would  take  no  excuses. 
The  teacher  has  no  time  to  weigh  excuses.  In  fact  it  is  to  be 
understood,  so  far  as  possible,  that  every  violation  of  school 
law  is  a  matter  of  thoughtlessness  rather  than  evil  design, 
and  is  thus  the  pupil's  misfortune  rather  than  his  crime  ;  but 
that  the  penalty  is  annexed  to  train  the  individual  to  better 
habits  of  care  and  thoughtfulness,  rather  than  to  extort 
damages.  Taking  this  view,  a  penalty  is  suffered  with  much 
better  effect  on  the  individual,  and  without  arousing  the  an- 
tagonism or  exciting  the  sympathy  of  his  school  fellows. 
Any  spirit  of  vindictiveness  in  carrying  out  a  law,  will 
most  surely  make  the  law  a  source  of  increasing  evil. 

Suppose  the  teacher,  when  he  had  secured  a  law  by  a 
unanimous  vote  of  all  interested,  should  virtually  take  this 
course  in  its  administration,  and  his  actions  if  not  his  words 
should  seem  to  say  to  his  pupils,  "Now  I've  got  you ;  you 
have  made  me  trouble  enough,  and  now  you  are  cornered, 
and  I  am  going  to  straighten  out  the  last  one  of  you." 

The  power  that  made  the  law  can  easily  unmake  it,  at 
least,  in  effect,  and  the  teacher  thus  applying  the  law  as  a 
seeming  means  of  obtaining  revenge  would  soon  find  that 
the  law  would  make  his  vindictiveness  more  obnoxious  to 
criticism  and  resistance  than  if  he  had  not  resorted  to  a  vote 
of  the  pupils  for  the  enactment  of  a  law.  The  pupils  would 
have  reason  to  feel  that  they  had  been  entrapped,  and  that 
they  had  just  cause  for  indignation  and  rebellion. 

The  great  and  prevalent  error,  however,  in  school  and 
college  management  is  the  enactment  of  various  laws,  which 
being  necessary  for  a  few,  place  uricalled-for  restraint  on  the 
many,  and  thus  most  surely  arouse  the  sympathy  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  pupils  towards  the  worst  offenders,  whenever 
they  fall  under  rebuke.  Such  unnecessary  laws,  then,  not 
only  do  no  good  in  restraining  the  vicious,  but,  in  many  cases, 
they  positively  excite  the  good  to  violate  them  and  thus 


190  LECTUEE   XV. 

bring  all  law  into  disrepute;  and  the  offenders  are  generally 
considered  and  treated  by  their  fellow  pupils  as  martyrs  and 
heroes.  In  no  particular,  do  these  remarks  hold  true  more 
disastrously  on  the  morals  and  habits  of  students,  than  in 
that  of  rigid  laws  to  prevent  social  intercourse  between  the 
sexes. 

Thus,  these  most  energetic  forces  for  mental  and  moral 
improvement,  the  very  means  provided  by  nature  and  socie- 
ty for  making  our  educational  establishments  most  effective 
instrumentalities  for  cultivating  the  chivalry  of  manhood 
and  the  graces  of  womanhood,  are  so  perverted  by  this  spirit 
of  barbarism  and  monasticism  still  clinging  to  the  man- 
agement of  nearly  all  our  colleges  and  academies  as  to 
make  them  the  constant  theatres  of  repressed  disorder 
or  open  lawlessness,  and  the  very  training  schools  for  in- 
iquitous indulgence  of  every  appetite,  passion  and  lust. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  so  many  young  men  graduated  or 
expelled  from  colleges,  make  speedy  final  wrecks  of  them- 
selves, trained  as  they  are  by  such  a  system  to  view  law  and 
order  as  their  natural  enemies,  and  the  gratification  of  their 
passions  as  their  chief  boast  and  their  only  desirable  aim? 

Teachers,  beware  that  your  well  meant  efforts  to  check 
and  subdue  evil  practices  do  not  train  the  will  irrecoverably 
into  determined  resistance  to  every  principle  of  right,  sim- 
ply because  it  is  right. 

III.  NORMAL  METHODS  FOR  INTRODUCING  AND  SUSTAINING  THE 
LAW  OF  RIGHT. 

1.  Exciting  Interest  in  Studies. 

The  first  general  idea  in  sustaining  the  law  of  right,  in 
other  words,  living  free  from  all  positive  enacted  laws,  save 
the  general  arrangements  proposed  and  explained  bjr  the 
teacher  at  the  organization  of  the  school,  and  modified  from 
time  to  time  as  the  progress  of  the  school  shall  seem  to  re- 
quire, is  that  the  interest  excited  in  the  recitations  and  car- 
ried through  the  study  hours  must  furnish  full  and  at- 
tractive employment  for  all  the  pupils,  and  that  they  will  be 
so  much  absorbed  in  the  legitimate  business  of  their  studies 
and  recitations,  that  idleness,  mischief  and  disorder  find  no 
time  or  place  in  the  school.  It  may  also  be  added  that  in  or- 
der to  excite  and  sustain  this  interest,  the  most  earnest  de- 
votion of  the  teacher  to  his  work  is  indispensable ;  and  yet 
more,  a  decided  and  positive  personal  regard  and  affection 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT..  191 

for  every  pupil  must  be  evinced  both  in  class  work  and  in 
social  intercourse,  and  especially  whenever  remonstrance  or 
reproof  is  found  to  be  necessary.  These  should,  if  possible, 
always  be  given  in  private,  in  order  to  show  the  pupil  that 
you  regard  his  feelings,  and  take  that  course  in  correcting 
an  evil  which  shall  give  him  the  least  annoyance  and  pain. 

2.  Exciting  Enterprise  for  Higher  Excellence. 

In  the  great  disparity  that  must  always  exist  in  every 
class,  both  in  natural  and  acquired  ability,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  provide  full  occupation  for  the  most  willing  and  the 
most  capable.  This  is  done  by  assigning  special  topics,  in 
addition  to  the  regular  lesson,  as  has  before  been  explained. 
It  will  be  found  a  valuable  aid  to  the  pupil  if  you  can  dis- 
criminate in  regard  to  the  excellence  of  his  recitation,  not 
merely  as  to  his  knowledge  of  the  lesson,  but  as  to  his  power 
of  explaining  or  demonstrating  any  principle,  proposition  or 
rule. 

I  am  accustomed,  as  you  well  know,  to  distinguish  the 
different  degrees  of  explaining  power  by  recognizing  three 
grades,  thus : 

Grades  of  Explaining  Power. 

(1.)  That  degree  of  clearness  which  convinces  the  teach- 
er that  the  pupil  has  studied  the  particular  subject  in  hand 
thoroughly,  and  has  mastered  it  so  far  as  patient  study  of  the 
text-book  would  enable  him  to  do  it. 

(2.)  That  degree  of  clearness  and  energy  of  expression 
which  will  make  the  subject  matter  plain  to  any  of  the  best 
pupils  who  have  not  studied  the  same  matter. 

(3.)  That  degree  of  clearness  and  tact  in  explaining  any 
point,  that  will  make  it  plain  to  the  dullest  member  of  the 
class,  and  impart  to  him  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
matter. 

The  full  and  hearty  recognition  of  these  different  de- 
grees of  power,  (a)  in  analysis,  (5)  in  synthesis,  (c)  in  ex- 
pression, (d)  in  illustration,  as  evinced  by  every  pupil  in  his 
recitation,  will  arouse  a  growing  spirit  of  enterprise  for  high- 
er excellence  and  more  beautiful  results,  (1.)  in  thorough- 
ness in  mastering  subjects,  (2)  in  fluency  and  propriety,  (3) 
in  the  expression  of  ideas,  (4)  in  aptitude  of  illustration  (5) 
in  winning  and  holding  attention,  that  will  prove  highly  ex- 
citing to  leading  pupils,  and  very  profitable  to  the  entire 
class. 


192  LECTURE   XV. 

The  ambition  of  the  pupils  will  be  stimulated  to  relieve 
the  teacher  from  the  necessity  of  taking  up  time  in  ex- 
planation, and  so  giving  the  entire  opportunity  and  advan- 
tages of  the  recitation  to  the  pupils,  both  as  learners  and 
teachers.  That  teacher  who  can  thus  make  himself  the  least 
needed  for  explanation  and  demonstration,  in  other  words 
who  can  contrive  to  teach  the  least,  is  really  the  teacher 
who  teaches  the  most  and  best.  He  is  the  nearest  appro  ach 
to  my  ideal  of  the  Model  Teacher. 

3.  Requiring  no  More  nor  Less  of  Any  Class  or  of  any  Pu- 
pil in  a  Class  than  it  or  he  can  Cheerfully  Accomplish. 

It  requires  no  small  amount  of  watchfulness  and  tact 
to  meet  the  diiferent  degrees  of  ability,  advancement  and 
energy  of  the  different  pupils  in  a  class,  Perhaps  the  best 
plan  for  accomplishing  this  is  to  section  a  class,  giving  diff- 
erent labor  in  the  same  lesson  to  each  section.  To  one 
who  has  never  tried  this  plan,  nor  ever  seen  it  work,  I  confess 
it  may  seem  beset  with  difficulties,  but  we  are  accustomed  to 
make  the  plan  work  here,  in  all  our  classes,  where  we  choose 
to  apply  it,  with  entire  success  ;  and  I  first  began  working 
on  this  plan  in  my  geography  classes  in  the  first  school  I 
over  taught.  It  was  a  country  district  school.  I  will  not 
here  describe  the  plan  nor  the  workings  of  a  sectioned  class, 
lut  will  close  this  lecture  in  giving  a  little  of  my  experience 
in  that  school  which  may  be  pertinent  to  this  division  of  my 
subject,  viz  :  not  to  require  more  nor  less  than  pupils  can  do 
cheerfully,  and  yet  with  full  employment. 

I  had  an  Arithmetic  class  of,  perhaps,  twelve  pupils  from 
thirteen  to  fifteen  years  of  age.  They  were,  as  to  ability,  an 
average  class  of  boys  and  girls.  They  had  been  as  badly 
taught  as  most  such  classes  are.  They  were  unable  to  give 
a  single  reason  for  any  process  required  in  Arithmetic,  or  in 
any  other  subject. 

I  thought  I  would  try  to  have  them  understand  the  rules 
of  Arithmetic,  at  least.  So  I  commenced  with  that  deter- 
mination ;  and  as  I  thought  gave  very  good  and  very  cleat 
demonstrations  of  every  point  in  every  rule,  and  then  in 
turn  required  them  to  give  the  reasons  for  the  several  pro- 
cesses. But  the  class  instead  of  becoming  interested,  were 
more  and  more  restive  and  disinclined  to  study  or  recite. 
After  two  weeks  of  pretty  thorough  discouragement  on  my 
part,  I  concluded  something  must  be  wrong.  In  reflecting 
on  the  matter,  I  said  to  myself,  "The  fault  is  not  in  the  sub- 
ject ;  Arithmetic  can  surely  be  made  interesting  if  any 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  193 

thing  can  ;  the  fault  is  not  in  the  class ;  it  is  as  good  a  class 
as  is  often  found  in  a  common  school.  The  fault  must  be  in 
me,  and  in  my  management.  It  is  just  this,  I  am  forcing 
reasons  upon  the  children.  I  will  try  another  plan  to-mor- 
row." The  next  day  as  the  class  were  engaged  in  Division 
of  Compound  Numbers,  I  requested  them  to  work  the  ex- 
amples by  the  rule,  and  carefully  withheld  all  explanations. 
This  went  on  till  the  class  succeeded  in  following  the  rule, 
and  working  the  examples  by  it. 

At  the  next  recitation,  as  the  class  were  occupied  with 
one  of  the  most  difficult  examples  given  under  that  rule  in 
Adams'  Arithmetic,  and  at  a  certain  point,  they  had  failed  to 
follow  the  rule,  a  little,  black-eyed  Helen  earnestly  in- 
quired :  "Why  do  we  have  to  bring  that  down  there  ?  I 
don't  understand  it."  "O,  never  mind,"  said  I,  "the  book 
says  so."  "But  you  told  us  we  ought  to  understand  why  we 
do  it."  "Well,  it  will  get  the  answer,  wont  it,  if  you  do  as 
the  rule  tells  you  ?"  "Yes, sir  ;  I  suppose  so,  but  I  don't  un- 
derstand it."  "Perhaps  you  will,  after  a  while,  if  you  work 
the  example  correctly  by  the  rule."  Here  a  curly-headed 
fellow,  turning  his  head  around  back  of  the  class,  whispered 
to  the  one  that  sat  near  him,  "I  don't  believe  he  under- 
stands it  himself." 

I  thought  it  about  time,  now,  as  the  spirit  of  inquiry  was 
aroused,  and  somewhat  at  my  expense,  to  give  the  explana- 
tion of  the  point  in  question.  I  had  learned  how  to  manage 
my  class,  and  thenceforth  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  all 
the  attention  and  study  desirable. 

Teachers,  never  force  your  wares  on  the  market,  but  make 
a  demand  for  them,  if  possible  ;  then  you  can  sell  them  at 
your  own  price. 

13 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 


LECTUKE   XVI. 


DISCIPLINE.— INCENTIVES. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


1.  The  Term  Discipline  Explained. 

The  term  Discipline  is  often  taken  in  a  broad  sense,  in- 
cluding all  the  appliances,  studies  and  exercises  of  the  stu- 
dent's life.  In  its  more  contracted  sense,  it  is  applied  to  th<3 
correction  of  particular  errors  and  faults.  I  use  the  term 
here  more  in  the  sense  of  preventing  and  correcting 
bad  habits,  than  of  correcting  and  punishing  special  delin- 
quencies in  diligence  and  order.  In  this  lecture  I  shall  give 
an  enumeration  and  brief  description  of  the  regular  and 
definite  means  to  be  kept  in  constant  daily  operation  to  se- 
cure diligent  and  earnest  study,  as  well  as  interesting  and 
profitable  recitations.  These  means  to  be  discussed  in  this 
lecture  I  denominate  Incentives,  as  their  entire  design  is  to 
act  in  harmony  with  the  desires  of  the  pupil,  to  excite  and 
energize  his  will  to  pleasurable  effort,  to  healthful  and  de- 
termined exertion. 
194 


J.KCTUUK    XVI.  JiJ'> 

2.   Tendencies  to  le  Guarded  Against. 

(1)  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  you  any  school  machin- 
ery that  will  go  itself;  and  I  wish  to  guard  you  against  pre- 
suming that  I  claim  any  such  power  for  Normal  methods  of 
discipline.     No,  if  I  knew  of   any  such  machinery  that  you 
could  put  to  work  in  the  school-room  thinking  it  would  ex- 
empt you  from  hard  work  and  earnest   endeavor,  I   would 
reject  it  as  worse  than  useless.     You  can  never  obtain  good 
work  from  pupils,  and  establish  good  habits  in  their  charac- 
ters without  yourself  leading  in  the  work,  in  obedience  to 
the  habits  you  desire  to  establish  in  them. 

(2)  You  must  guard  against  the  tendency  to  routine;  the 
best  means  and  methods  conceivable  lose  all  force   and  ex- 
cellence when  gone  through    with   mechanically,  by   rote. 
The  means  which  I  propose  are  of  such  a  character,  design- 
edly, as  to  require  constant  inspiration  in  carrying  them  out. 
Any  thing  like  rote  in  their  application  will  convert  them 
into  a  nuisance.     Why?     Rote  is  laziness;  but  laziness  and 
Normal  methods  are  contradictory  to  each  other. 

(3)  You  must  guard  against  too   great  rigor,  oppressive 
precision  and  exacting  demand,  with  well-meaning,  kindly-dis- 
posed, yet  careless  and  thoughtless  children.     It  is  very  easy 
to  convert  thoughtlessness  into  willfulness.     If  you  are  not 
particularly  watchful  in  your  anxiety  to  secure  perfect  or- 
der, and  industrious  application,  you   will   interpret   some 
thoughtless  neglect,  or  heedless  act,  as   intentional   disre 
gard  of  your  wishes,  and  thus  make  that  child  your  enemy. 
Better  interpret  ten  intentional  misdeeds   as   instances    of 
thoughtlessness,  than  one  thoughtless  act  as  designedly  wick- 
ed.    Your  error  in  the  former  case  is  recognized  as  that  of 
charity  and  good  will :  in  the  latter  case  of   harshness  and 
spite. 

(4)  You  must  guard  against  too  great  laxness,  such  as 
will  be  attributed  to  indifference  or  want  of  sufficient  dis- 
crimination ;  or,  again, that  easy,  slip-shod  kind  of  good-nat- 
ure which  lets  every  thing  take  its  own  way,  and  everybody 
do  as  he  pleases.     Above  all  things,  you  must  keep  up   to 
your  programme,  especially  in  Recesses    and   Dismissions- 


196 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


Do  not  permit  yourself  to  use  the  time  of  recess  for  pur- 
poses of  discipline  ;  take  the  time  rather  from  recitations.  I 
would  like  to  have  you  tell  me  three  reasons  why  this  latter 
course  ii  the  best.  How  many  can  give  them  ? 

3.  Sine   Qua   Non. 

The  Normal  methods  of  school  management  require  first, 
last  and  always,  a  spirit  of  thrift,  of  satisfaction  and  pride  in 
the  work,  an  unflagging  desire  to  please  and  be  pleased,  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher.  This  spirit  is  the  very  soul  of  all 
incentives;  yes,of  all  penalties  also,  and  without  it  notliiug 
can  be  done  NORMALLY  in  the  way  of  School  Discipline. 

INCENTIVES,  AND  HOW  TO  APPLY  THEM. 
I.     PROPER  INCENTIVES. 

1.  For  Pupils  Who  are  Sufficiently  Advanced  to  Study  Their 

Lessons. 

1.    In   Recitations. 

(1)  Preliminary   Drill. — In   previous    lectures   I   have 
described  and  exemplified  preliminary  drill  and  character- 
ized it  ah  the  most  necessary  part  of  a  recitation,  and  as  that 
which  requires  more  skill  than  all  else.     It  is  too  generally 
neglected  altogether. 

(2)  Approbation   in    Recitation. — If    the    teacher   seek 
for  every  opportunity  to  find  something  to  approve  in  the 
performance  of  every  backward  and  dull  pupil,  he   can  not 
fail  to  win  the  confidence  of  that  pupil,  and  he  will  soon  be 
found  doing  his  best,  since  he  has  found  some  one  who  does 
not  think  him  a  dunce  or  a  brute.     He  has  found  in  you  a 
friend,  and   your   partiality,  in    spite    of    his   awkwardness, 
backwardness  and  many  defects  can  not  fail  to  win  his  grat- 
itude and  affection.     He  will  try  to  please  you  as  he  never 
tried  to  do  any  good  thing  before.       On  the  other  hand,  how 
easy  it  is  to  discourage  and  alienate    even  a  good  pupil,  to 
make  him  indifferent  and  contrary,  if  he  once  feels  that  you 
are  watching  for  opportunities  to  find  fault,  and  to  be  sharp 
at  his  expense 


LECTURE    XVI.  107 

(3.)  Marking  the  Standing.  I  am  aware  that  the  "mark- 
ing system"  as  it  is  called,  is  decried  by  some  of  our  leading 
teachers,  that  it  was  recently  voted  out  of  Williams  College 
by  the  students.  But  the  objections  lie  against  the  abuse  of 
1  he  system  rather  than  against  the  system  itself.  If  marking 
is  used  chiefly  as  punishment  and  as  a  means  of  checking 
rowdyism,  and  intimidating  roughs  in  school  or  college,  it 
ought  to  be  squelched  as  a  nuisance,  for  it  can  only  increase 
these  evils.  But  if  the  Teacher  grades  his  pupils  chiefly  for 
their  encouragement,  and  they  really  feel  that  this  is  his  de 
sign,  they  accept  of  it  as  a  worthy  and  effective  stimulus, 
and  heartily  avail  themselves  of  its  power,  to  hold  them  to  a 
good  purpose,  to  help  them  in  fixing  good  habits.  In  large 
classes  it  becomes  necessary  to  mark  each  pupil  called  on  for 
an  exercise  in  recitation,  that  none  may  be  slighted,  unless  the 
teacher  pursues  the  same  order  at  every  recitation,  which 
ought  not  to  be  done,  of  course.  Hence,  marking  the  char- 
acter of  the  effort  made  by  each  pupil,  with  regard  to  thor- 
oughness of  preparation,  readiness  of  utterance,  skill  of  ex- 
plication, facility  of  illustration,  or  any  other  point  that  he 
may  wish  to  make  prominent  at  any  given  time,  or  with  any 
particular  individual,  is  a  matter  of  no  additional  labor  or 
inconvenience.  The  class  or  the  individual  should  of  course 
be  previously  apprised  of  the  particular  point  or  points  on 
which  the  grading  is  to  be  given. 

Grading  bestowed  in  this  manner,  and  always  with  the 
purpose  of  encouragement,  I  have  ever  found  to  give  ex 
cellent  results,  especially  with  the  more  backward  or  indolent, 
in  study,  in  recitation,  in  good  feeling:  last  not  least.  Nor 
have  I  ever  known  pupils  to  object  to  the  plan,  and  in  but 
very  few  instances  has  any  pupil  objected  to  his  own  grade. 

2.    In  Roll-calling. 

In  many  large  schools  the  labor  and  time  required  for 
roll-call  are  abridged  by  various  contrivances.    I  prefer  to  take 
time  to  call  a  roll  every  morning,  and  in  most  cases,  every 
evening.      The  advantages  of  calling  a  roll  more  than  com 
petisate  for  the  time,  if  the  thing  is  managed  well. 

(1.J    Without  Enacted  Law.    The  kindly  respectful  tone  of 


198  (SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

voice  used  by  a  Normal  teacher  in  calling  each  pupil  by 
name,  and  the  corresponding  feeling  evinced  in  the  responses 
more  than  compensate.  Then,  if  you  wish  to  have  pupils 
give  the  number  of  minutes  tardy,  or  any  other  special  re- 
port in  their  responses,  as  a  means  of  helping  themselves  and 
each  other  in  any  specified  direction,  roll-calling  may  be 
made  especially  serviceable  in  obviating  the  necessity  of  any 
positive  law. 

(2.)    With  Enacted  Law.     When  any  law  is  enacted,  as 
that  of  'no  communication,'  roll-calling  at  evening  as  well  as 
morning  becomes  almost  a  necessity,  in  order  that  each  pu- 
pil may  give  his  own  report  of  his  compliance  or  non-com 
pliance  with  the  law  or  laws  established. 

3.    In  Self-reporting  at  each  Hecess  or  at  Isismission. 

No  point  in  school  discipline  has  been  so  much  discussed, 
and  yet  with  such  utter  variance  of  opinion  as  that  of  self- 
reporting.  Its  opponents  aver  that  it  puts  a  premium  on  ly 
ing,  and  trains  children  to  deceit;  that  it  is  evil,  only  evil,  and 
evil  continually.  Its  advocates  as  confidently  affirm  that  the 
practice,  when  well  managed, is  the  most  effective  means  to 
break  up  the  habit  of  falsehood,  and  to  establish  the  love  of 
truth,  and  the  habit  of  fair  dealing,  not  only  in  the  school 
government,  but  in  the  very  heart  and  life  of  the  large  ma- 
jority of  the  pupils. 

It  is  not  difficult  for  me  to  account  for  this  striking  dip 
crepancy  of  opinion.  I  have  noticed  that  those  who  favor  the 
plan  of  self-reporting,  are  in  their  management  kind,  genial, 
hopeful,  confiding  and  honest ;  and  those  who  most  denounce 
the  plan  are  better  known  as  rigid  disciplinarians,  and  of 
course,  they  are  exacting,  suspicious,  and  cold-hearted.  Such 
teachers  will  train  children  to  hypocrisy  by  any  method,  and 
I  am  not  slow  to  admit  that  self-reporting  is  the  worst  they 
ran  adopt. 

Normal  Method  of  Self-reporting  Described. 

The  pupils  are  supposed  to  be  called  on  at  regular  periods, 
each  to  report  his  own  compliance  with  the  established  law 


LECTLUE    XVI.  TJ9 

or  Jaws,  or  the  violation  of  it  or  them.  I  will  assume  that 
the  law  established  is  that  of  'no  communication.'  It  is  un- 
derstood that  the  law  has  been  successfully  inaugurated  by  a 
vote  of  a  large  majority  of  the  school.  Now,  to  make  this 
law  work  successfully,  and  win  popular  favor,  till  all  shall 
cheerfully  comply  with  it,  is  the  object.  I  shall  endeavor  to 
show,  as  briefly  as  may  be,  how  this  can  be  done ;  rather,  how 
it  has  been  done,  in  numerous  instances. 

The  law  is,  no  communication  by  any  conceivable  means; 
i.  e.,  no  intentional  communication  of  thought  or  feeling 
among  the  pupils.  All  communication  must  go  on  through 
the  teacher.  If  the  law  only  forbids  whispering,  there  is  the 
writing  of  notes;  and  if  it  excludes  this  also,  then  there  are 
innumerable  other  methods  of  communication  which  take 
more  contrivance  and  time.  So,  the  only  rule  that  will  do 

any  good  is 

• 

Nc  INTENTIONAL  COMMUNICATION  BETWEEN  PUPILS. 

In  order  to  make  the  law  work  as  pleasantly  as  possible, 
it  is  well  to  give  the  pupils  an  opportunity  to  report  frequently. 
I  hiwe  found  that  reporting  every  hour  works  the  best.  To 
this  end,  and  for  many  other  reasons,!  prefer  to  have  short  re- 
cesses at  the  end  of  every  hour,  rather  than  one  longer  re- 
cess every  half  day.  I  wish  you  would  report  to  morrow 
three  good  and  sufficient  reasons  why  short  recesses  every 
hour  are  preferable  to  one  longer  recess  each  half  day. 

When  the  signal  is  given,  by  the  bell,  for  books  to  be  laid 
aside,  and  arranged  on  the  desks ;  and  this  has  been  accom- 
plished, I  inquire,  "  How  many  perfect  ? "  As  many  as  are 
raise  the  hand.  It  is  understood  by  previous  explanation 
that  all  who  have  not  violated  the  law,  will  report  "perfect."1' 
Then  I  inquire,  "How  many  imperfect."  Any  one  who  has 
v  iolated,  then  raises  his  hand.  Thus,  in  a  moment,  the  report 
is  taken.  If  I  choose  to  record  the  vote,  I  can  do  it  on  my 
general  register,  as  I  shall  describe  hereafter,  almost  before 
the  report  is  given.  It  is  understood  that  all  who  report 
perfect  are  entitled  to  their  recess,  and  those  who  report 
imperfect  will  sit  at  their  desks  during  recess,  and  hold  com 


200  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

munication  with  no  one,  unless  the  teacher  should  require  it. 
The  teacher  has  no  time  to  hear  excuses,  nor  to  deliberate  on 
them.  Excuses  form  no  part  of  the  programme,  either  in  tho 
violation  of  this  rule  or  in  the  matter  of  tardiness.  If  you 
tolerate  excuses  either  verbal  or  written  you  will  have  little 
lime  for  anything  else.  Excuses  are  the  bane  of  good  action, 
and  the  pupil  who  is  good  at  excuses  is  good  for  nothing  else. 
As  I  have  before  said,  let  every  violation  of  rule  or  instance 
of  tardiness  be  considered  rather  in  the  light  of  a  misfortune 
or  accident;  and  thus  the  penalty  is  not  regarded  so  much 
designed  to  punish  the  vicious,  as  a  gentle  stimulus,  in- 
tended to  quicken  the  watchfulness  and  foresight  of  the  good, 
in  order  that  such  misfortunes  and  accidents  may  occur  as 
rarely  as  possible.  Thus  the  operation  of  this  law,  managed 
in  this  manner  will  contribute  most  effectually  to  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  bad  habits  of  carelessness,  thoughtlessness  and 
excuses,  and  to  the  establishing  of  the  permanent  habits  of 
foresight  and  promptitude,  honest  work  and  cheerful  endeavor, 
worthy  ambition  and  noble  aspiration. 

Caution  in  Carrying  out  the  Rule  of  Non- communication. 

You  will  be  plied  with  the  request, 'May  I  speak/ from 
every  quarter,  as  soon  as  this  rule  is  adopted.  My  caution  is, 
do  not  permit  yourself  to  yield  to  the  request  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, do  not  even  tolerate  the  request,  "May  I  speak." 
It  is  the  utter  defeat  of  all  good  order  and  diligence  in  a 
school.  It  is  death  to  all  honest  effort.  Out  ,vith  the  nui- 
sance. Rather,  forestall  its  entrance. 

But  in  order  that  a  pupil  may  not  suffer  from  want  of  9 
pencil,  or  a  book,  or  from  not  knowing  what  his  lesson  is.  in 
troduce  this  practice  thus : 

Any  scholar  may  call  the  attention  of  the  teacher  at  any 
time  by  raising  his  hand.  Let  the  pupil  then  state  his  want 
definitely,  and  the  teacher  will  give  his  whole  attention  to  the 
matter  until  the  want  or  desire  is  properly  met.  This  of 
course  is  done  at  the  expense  of  the  class  engaged  in  recita 
tion,  but  the  very  fact  that  the  recitation  is  interrupted  in  al] 
such  cases,  is  the  best  preventive  to  the  too  frequent  re^cur 
rence  of  the  causes  of  such  interruption. 


LECTUHE   XVI.  201 

The  honor  and  generosity  of  every  pupil  are  thus  appealed 
to,  and  interruptions  of  this  kind  will  happen  less  and  less 
frequently.  Pupils  will  suffer  considerable  inconvenience 
and  loss  rather  than  call  on  the  teacher  to  provide  paper, 
pencil,  book,  or  anything  of  the  kind.  Rather,  they  will  learn 
to  see  beforehand  that  they  have  all  these  things  in  readiness, 
and  they  learn  thus  to  cultivate  the  habits  of  care,  foresight 
and  generosity. 

In  case  of  violations  of  law  during  the  last  hour  of  fore- 
noon or  afternoon  sessions,  the  offender  remains  seated  two 
minutes  after  the  dismission,  as  the  penalty  for  the  violation. 

In  case  of  reporting  for  tardiness,  the  number  of  minutes 
tardy  in  the  morning  may  be  given  at  noon,  and  the  number 
of  minutes  tardy  in  the  afternoon  ma^  be  given  at  roll-calling 

at  night. 

4.    In  Daily  Reporting. 

Pupils  also  report  at  night  on  their  compliance  with  en- 
acted law  during  the  day,  thus :  if  a  pupil's  hourly  reports 
have  been  'perfect'  for  the  entire  six  hours  of  the  day  he  re- 
ports 'five,'  if  he  has  been  'imperfect'  one  hour  during  the  day 
he  reports  'four,'  and  diminishes  one  for  every  hourly  imper- 
fect report.  The  report  'one'  or  'zero'  will  then  denote  an 
unfortunate  day,  indeed;  and  the  frequent  recurrence  of  such 
misfortunes  in  the  case  of  any  pupil  may  call  for  additional 
ways  and  means  in  his  behalf.  But  of  this  hereafter.  Then 
reports  as  given  by  the  pupils  in  answer  to  roll-call  are  of 
course  recorded,  when  given  on  the  general  register. 

If  disorder  is  somewhat  prevalent,  and  the  teacher 
thinks  it  necessary,  he  can  make  a  record  of  the  hourly  re- 
ports of  imperfect,  by  a  pencil  dot  in  the  day's  space  for  the 
pupil  on  the  register.  But  this  will  seldom  be  necessary. 
The  teacher  can  generally  remember  the  hourly  reports  well 
enough  to  determine  the  accuracy  or  honesty  of  the  daily 
report  any  individual  pupil  may  give. 

5.    Encouragement  by  Weekly   Reports. 

Weekly  reports  of  each  pupil  may  be  given,  (a)  orally, 
at  the  close  of  the  week,  to  the  school :  or  ( I)  on  Monday, 
they  may  be  sent  on  Weekly  Report  Cards  to  the  parents  for 
their  examination  and  signature. 


202 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


These  weekly  reports  are  the  sums  or  averages  of  the 
daily  reports,  recorded  on  the  general  register.  Some 
teachers  may  prefer  to  keep  special  class  registers  for  each 
class,  or  grade  register  for  each  grade ;  but  I  have  always 
made  the  general  register  answer  all  purposes.  I  will  show 
you  by  a  diagram  how  this  is  effected,  with  the  use  of  any 
common  School  Eegister.  I  give  in  the  diagram  a  week's 
record  for  four  bovs. 


Mon. 


Tues. 


Wed. 


Thu. 


Fci. 


* 


Gr.  Ge. 
Ar.    Sp. 


Gr.  Ge. 
Ar.   Sp. 


511 


5;, 


3  4'4 

4  616 


Gr.  Bk. 
Ar-   Sp. 


5        5 

5        5 


5  5 


|Gr.  Bk. 
Ur.  Sp. 


5  5 


This  record  includes  (1)  number  of  half  days  absent;  (2) 
number  of  times  tardy;  (3)  number  of  minutes  tardy;  (4) 
Deportment;  (5)  grades  in  four  studies. 

You  will  notice,  I  give  two  horizontal  lines  to  each  pupil. 
In  the  upper  parallelogram  I  keep  the  record  ot  presence  or 
absence,  by  drawing  with  my  pencil  a  line  from  the  left  side 
to  the  center,  for  absence  in  the  forenoon  ;  and  from  the  cen- 
ter to  the  right  side,  for  absence  in  the  afternoon ;  and  a  line 
through  the  center  from  side  to  side  for  absence  all  day.  The 
number  of  minutes  tardy  is  recorded  in  the  upper  half  of 
the  upper  parallelogram.  The  reports  for  decorum  or  com- 
pliance with  established  law  or  laws  is  recorded  in  the  lower 
half  of  the  upper  parallelogram.  These  reports  are  the  same 


LECTURE    XVI.  203 

as  given  by  the  pupils  as  before  described  in  daily   reports. 

Thus  the  upper  parallelogram  contains  the  record  of  tli£ 
the  first  four  items  as  given  in  the  enumeration,  while  the 
lower  parallelogram  is  used  for  grading  in  four  studies.  The 
wide  space  immediately  after  the  names  is  used  as  a  key  to 
the  marking  of  each  pupil's  standing  in  his  several  studies. 
The  four  corners  of  the  lower  parallelogram  of  each  pupil 
fur  each  day  are  used  as  the  corresponding  four  corners  indi- 
cate in  the  key,  or  large  parallelogram  marked  as  before  men- 
tioned. In  case  any  pupil  is  absent  one  or  more  half  days 
in  a  week,  he  is  allowed  merit  marks  in  decorum  and  recita- 
tions in  making  up  his  weekly  report  equal  to  his  average  in 
the  same  particulars  during  the  days  present.  I  give  on  the 
following  page  a  copy  of  a  weekly  report  card : 

It  is  designed  that  each  self-reporting  pupil  shall  have  a 
card.  Each  card  is  enclosed  in  an  envelope  with  the  pupil's 
name  superscribed.  The  Teacher  fills  up  these  cards  each 
Saturday,  writing  the  sums  of  the  daily  reports  in  their  re- 
spective places  on  the  card. 

These  cards,  properly  filled  out,  are  handed  to  the  pupils 
on  Monday  evening.  It  is  expected  that  they  will  take  them 
home,  that  the  parents  will  examine  them,  and  one  of 
them  will  affix  his  or  her  name  in  the  appropriate  space.  The 
cards  will  be  returned  the  first  time  the  pupil  comes  to  school. 

If  any  card  is  dropped  by  the  way,  a  new  envelope  can  be 
furnished ;  if  any  card  is  lost,  a  new  card  can  be  made  out. 

Advantages  of  Weekly  Eeport  Cards. 

(1.)  They  secure  co-operation  of  parents,  as  no  other 
plan  can. 

(2.)  They  prevent  false  reports  from  scholars  to  parents, 
and  untruthful  statements  of  detentions  by  the  parents. 

(3.)  They  thus  secure  regular  attendance  ; 

(4.)  And  aid  in  preventing  tardiness. 

(5.)  They  aid  in  inciting  to  earnest  study  ; 

(6.)  And  in  securing  good  lehavior  in  school. 

(7.)  If  successful  otherwise,  they  are  found  to  excite  a 
healthy  spirit  of  emulation  in  all  the  different  exorcises  oJ 
school. 


204  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

*T BACKER'S  WEEKLY     REPORT 

OF  THE  SCHOLARSHIP  AND  DEPORTMENT  OP 


Commencing ,  18. 


Weeks.  1 

>>*^ 

•ss 

• 

*s 

S£ 

si 

HH 

!•£ 

S'H 

*L 

c  «-* 

o.s 

D   Oi 

PS 

Parents  will  aid  the  teacher  mush 
by  visiting  the  school  often,     Ple;iso 
come  often. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

In  the  teacher's  daily  record  of  grade  for  deportment,  and  for  each  study,  5=perfe.-t, 
*=good,  S^fair.  2==poor,  l=bnd,  0  signifies  a  misdemeanor  or  failure.  Hence,  the  high- 
est  grade  for  deportment,  or  for  only  one  study,  is  23.  The  O's  in  the  upper  part  of  tho 
spaces,  signify  the  number  of  failures  or  misdemeanors  for  the  week. 

J8&"The  parent  will  please  examine  this  report  and  sign  his  or  her  name  in  the  blank 
space  opposite  to  the  last  report  given. 

-Teacher. 


*Tho  form  of  card  here  given  is  much  wider  than  the  card  really  used 
as  that  is  the  size  of  an  ordinary  envelope. 


LECTURE    XVI. 


20* 


Objections  to  the  Use  of  Weekly  Report  Cards. 

(1.)  They  cost  two  cents  for  each  pupil. 

(2.)  It  takes  time  and  labor  to  make  them  out  every  Sat- 
urday. 

(3.)  Parents  may  refuse  to  sign  them,  or,indeed,may  be 
unable  to  sign  them,  and  thus  they  may  excite  opposition  to 
the  teacher. 

(4.)  Pupils  may  not  show  them  to  their  parents,  and  get 
some  other  person  to  sign  the  parent's  name. 

(5.)  Some  of  the  pupils  may  think  themselves  too  old  to 
report  to  parents,  and,indeed,it  may  not  be  best  to  require  it. 

I  leave  it  to  the  ingenious  and  faithful  teacher  to  overcome 
these  objections  and  others  that  may  arise.  They  are  used 
in  hundreds,  thousands  of  schools  and  are  made  to  work  well; 
though  I  do  not  claim  that  they  will  prove  a  success  in  all 
hands.  Nothing  else  will. 

No  teacher  should  rely  on  weekly  report  cards  for  his  sue  • 
cess.  There  must  be  industry,  earnestness,  foresight,  contri- 
vance, tact,  superaddecl  to  all  the  other  qualifications  de- 
scribed in  the  first  five  lectures  of  this  course ;  then  weekly 
report  cards  for  a  time  at  least  will  pay,  and  pay  well. 

INCENTIVES  FOR  PUPILS  WHO  DO  NOT  STUDY  LESSONS.    D  GRADE. 

As  this  method  of  hourly,  daily,  and  weekly  reporting 
would  be  inappropriate  and  useless  for  children  who  can 
not  yet  interest  themselves  in  studying  lessons,  it  will  be 
better  to  adopt  the  'reward  of  merit'  system  with  the  abcda- 
rians,  and,perhaps,also  with  those  reading  in  the  first  reader. 

The  Atwater  tickets  work  very  well  with  this  class  of 
children ;  but  I  prefer  the  plan  which  I  introduced  in  the  first 
school  I  ever  taught,  over  thirty  years  ago.  It  is  simply  this, 
and  I  shall  denominate  it 

Normal    Method  of    Inciting  Abcdarians  to  Good  Conduct 
and  Love  of  school. 

Procure  some  good  thick  fools-cap  paper,  also  a  blue,  and 
a  red  pencil,  or  crayons.  You  can  now  with  some  little  in- 
genuity and  taste  make  any  number  of  pretty  tickets,  with 
blue  borders  and  red  fillings,  of  such  words  as,  'excellent,' 
cmeritorious,'etc.  One  of  these  tickets  may  be  given  to  oacb 


203  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

pupil  of  the  D  grade  every  night,  provided  he  merits  it  by 
good  behavior;  in  other  words,  has  given  the  teacher  no  spe- 
cial trouble  during  the  day.  By  the  way,  I  would  not  insist 
on  'non-communication'  for  this  class  of  pupils,  and  yet  a  cer- 
tain kind  and  degree  of  order  must  be  preserved,  so  much  as 
that  they  do  not  interrupt  the  recitations  and  study  of  older 
pupils.  The  only  penalty  such  pupils  will  ever  need,  if  the 
teacher  has  any  skill  in  teaching  them  is  to  deprive  them  of 
the  privilege  of  "saying  their  lessons,"  and  thus,  in  course,  of 
their  tickets  to  take  home  at  night. 

When  any  child  has  received  five  of  these  reward  tickets, 
he  can  bring  them  back,  and  the  teacher  will  give  him  a  lit- 
tle primer,  to  keep  for  his  own.  The  teacher  will  write  on 
it  or  in  it  the  name  of  the  pupil,  the  number  of  the  prize, 
and  the  date.  The  child  will  be  able  to  read  that  primer 
through,  in  most  cases,  before  he  comes  to  school  next  morn- 
ing. Such  primers  can  be  bought  by  the  gross  for  about  a 
half  a  cent  each.  When  a  pupil  has  received  five  of  these 
small  primers,  he  may  be  entitled  to  a  larger  or  two  cent 
primer.  Thus  it  is  possible  for  every  child  to  win  two  large 
primers  in  one  session  of  three  months. 

You  will  perhaps  foresee  a  difficulty  in  dividing  the  school 
for  these  two  methods  of  management,  the  self-reporting  and 
reward  of  merit  plans.  The  following  suggestion  may  be 
serviceable.  The  first  reader  class  or  C  grade,  (see  pro- 
gramme, last  lecture),  may  be  placed  in  either  system  as  you 
may  think  best,  or  as  they  may  prefer.  They  will  generally 
prefer  to  be  ranked  among  the  self-reporters.  If  any  pupil 
in  the  C  grade,  gives  too  much  trouble  on  this  plan,  for  a  few 
days,  he  may  be  placed  under  the  lower  plan.  That  is,  since  he 
'is  unable  to  take  care  of  himself  in  the  self-reporting  syst€-m, 
the  teacher  will  have  to  take  care  of  him  as  he  does  of  the 
other  little  fellows,  and  he  will  probably  need  a  special  seal, 
to  make  the  care  of  the  teacher  over  him  more  convenient, 

Rolls  of  Honor. 

It  is  very  helpful,  sometimes,  as  a  stimulus  to  good  order 
and  promptir-ude,  to  have  a  roll  of  honor  for  all  who  comply 
with  the  law  or  laws  through  a  given  time — say  a  week.  This 


LECTURE   XVI.  207 

roll  of  honor  may  be  placed  in  a  frame  with  a  glass  front, 
and,  if  it  is  somewhat  embellished,  all  the  better.  The  §£ 
feet  is  much  heightened  if  pupils  are  consulted  before  it  is  in- 
troduced. There  can  hardly  be  any  opposition  to  the  plan 
from  any  one.  On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  school  will 
welcome  the  plan,  if  proposed  with  any  degree  of  kindness 
and  skill.  It  may  also  be  proposed  that  the  names  of  all 
who  are  thus  enrolled  nine-tenths  of  the  weeks  during  a 
Jonger  period — say  a  term  or  a  year — shall  be  inscribed  on  a 
permanent  Roll  of  Honor,  in  a  fine  gilt  frame,  to  be  left 
hanging  in  the  school-room,  or  in  any  other  place  that  the  pu- 
pils may  designate. 

Several  teachers  have  reported  that  this  plan  has  worked 
well  in  connection  with  other  incentives.  It  is  generally  ap- 
plied to  the  rules  of  no  communication  and  no  tardiness,  and 
is  well  calculated  to  promote  an  honorable  regard  for  these 
essentials  in  good  management,  and  a  cheerful  and  earnest 
desire  on  the  part  of  all  to  maintain  these  laws. 

If  there  is  a  paper  published  in  the  village,  it  may  be 
well  to  have  the  roll  of  honor  published  once  a  month,  or 
once  a  term. 

II.  IMPROPER  INCENTIVES. 

1.   Prizes. 

Though  the  prize  system  is  almost  universal,  especially 
in  colleges,  I  can  see  nothing  but  evil  in  it. 

The  first  wrong  it  inflicts  is  'on  those  who  are  superior  by 
nature  or  by  previous  training,  and  who,  of  course  need  no 
such  stimulus.  All  such  are  incited  to  use  their  advantage, 
and  that  which  is  of  itself  an  act  of  meanness,  is  sanctioned 
and  sanctified  by  the  fact  that  the  prize  is  offered  by  tho 
highest  authorities. 

All  such  as  are  superior  to  others  ought  in  honor  to  with 
draw  from  the  contest. 

Is  it  not  mean  for  a  six-footer  to  crush  a  five-footer,  or  in 
any  way  to  provoke  a  personal  conflict  ? 

Thus,  any  one  can  see  that  a  very  mean  pride  is  excited 
in  those  who  consciously  have  a  decided  advantage  in  con- 
tending for  any  school  prize. 


208  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

The  second  wrong  is  inflicted  on  those  who  are  consciously 
inferior.  All  such  need  the  stimulus, perhaps,  but  instead  of 
the  prize  acting  as  an  incentive,  it  most  thoroughly  discour- 
ages them.  They  soon  abandon  all  effort,  not  only  to  win  the 
prize  but  to  attain  to  any  degree  of  excellence.  They  are 
disgusted,  and  well  they  may  be. 

The  'head  and  foot"  arrangement  in  the  management  of 
a  class  works  the  same  way,  and  should  never  be  tolerated 
under  any  circumstances  in  any  study,  recitation  or  exercise 
whatever. 

There  is  one  exception  to  this  general  statement, that  prizes 
are  improper  incentives.  This  is  in  a  penmanship  class.  By 
offering  a  prize  to  the  one  who  improves  the  most,  and  not 
to  the  one  who  writes  the  best,  the  evils  before  mentioned 
may  be  avoided.  The  poorest  writers  are  most  stimulated 
because  they  obviously  have  the  best  opportunity  to  make 
the  most  improvement.  This  plan  of  managing  a  penman- 
ship class  will  be  given  at  some  other  time  and  place. 

2.     Exemption  from  Study. 

While  I  consider  the  imposition  of  extra  study,  as  the  sil- 
liest and  wickedest  of  all  penalties,  the  offer  of  exemption 
from  study  as  a  reward  is  so  nearly  akin  to  the  penalty  in  its 
effects,  that  it  comes  under  the  same  condemnation. 

The  effect  of  it  is  to  impress  on  the  mind  and  character 
of  the  pupil,  the  idea  that  work  is  a  burden  and  an  evil,  and 
that  the  highest  honor  and  enjoyment  is  in  avoiding  it. 

How  does  this  tally  with  a  purpose  to  make  work  attract- 
ive and  industry  honorable  ?  How  can  any  desirable  Jtabit  be 
established  in  the  school  room,  while  such  practices  make 
work  odious,  by  imposing  it  as  a  punishment,  and  idleness 
honorable  by  offering  it  as  a  reward  for  extra  exertion.  ? 

I  would  rather  strive  to  reverse  this  order  of  affairs  and 
give  extra  work  as  an  incentive,  and  impose  privation  of 
work  as  a  penalty. 

Teacher,  with  the  true  spirit  of  your  calling,  this  can  be 
done.  It  has  been  done.  You  will  at  least  aim  for  such  a 
state  of  feeling  and  habit,  in  your  school.  Do  not  be  satisfied 
till  you  attain  it 


LECTURE    XVI.  209 

With  these  views,  I  deprecate  half  holidays,  holidays,  and 
believe  that  vacations  are  a  nuisance,  and  should  be  abated 
as  far  as  possible. 

It  grieves  me  when  I  find  my  pupils  are  counting  the  num- 
ber of  days  before  the  term  expires.  Rather  would  I  have  them 
express  regrets  that  the  term  or  the  school  is  so  soon  to  end. 
Such  a  state  of  feeling,  Teacher,  is  worth  working  for,  and 
may  be  held  as  a  proper  incentive  to  incite  you  to  the  utmost 
kindness  and  efficiency  in  your  school  management. 

3.      Monitors  and  Spies. 

If  the  use  of  monitors  or  spies  has  ever  been  resorted  to 
as  a  stimulus  to  promote  good  conduct  or  diligent  study,  it 
is  its  own  condemnation.  Nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  hu- 
man contrivance  could  be  better  calculated  to  promote  de- 
termined and  habitual  shirking  and  shamming,  mean  expe- 
dients and  shallow  pretexts,  than  the  knowledge  that  one  is 
watched  and  treated  as  a  knave  and  a  wretch  beyond  the 
pale  of  confidence  or  hope. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  that  tricks  on  the  teacher  or  professor 
are  the  order  of  the  day— of  the  night  rather — that  hazing 
and  cutting,  are  beyond  control,  in  colleges  and  academies, 
when  spies  are  employed  and  proctors  or  ^governors'  are 
watching  round  to  keep  order  ? 

The  teacher  who  resorts  to  such  a  method  of  school  gov- 
ernment ought  to  have  his  chair  legs  sawn  nearly  in  two, 
ought  to  be  'barred  out'  most  effectually.  Such  a  teacher 
will  do  immensely  more  hurt  than  good  in  any  school. 

4.     Excuses. 

I  hardly  suppose  you  would  place  excuses  in  the  category 
of  incentives,  at  all ;  but  I  have  found  they  may  operate 
when  received  or  tolerated  as  the  worst  form  of  incentive  to 
miserable  habits  of  lying  and  laziness,  un thrift  and  de- 
pravity. 

I  would  not  receive  excuses  in  any  form  oral  or  written. 
In  any  shape,  they  are  an  abomination,  and  can  work  only  evil 
results  to  the  pupil  who  offers  them,  to  the  general  workings 
of  the  school,  and  to  your  character  as  a  teacher.  So,  I  beg. 
that  you  make  no  provision  for  excuses ;  give  them  no  coun- 
tenance, no  toleration. 
11 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 


LEGTUEE  XVII. 


DISCIPLINE.— PENALTIES. 


PRELIMINARY  KEMARKS. 


MY  FRIENDS: 

The  subject  for  our  consideration  this  morning,  Penalties, 
I  approach  with  more  reluctance  and, possibly, misgiving  than 
any  other  in  the  whole  range  of  our  school  work.  Yet,  as 
God  has  established  a  system  of  punishments  as  well  as  of 
rewards  in  his  all-fatherly  government,  we  may  not  expect 
with  our  limited  capacities  to  be  able  to  lay  aside  that  which 
the  Infinite  has  deemed  necessary  for  the  well  being  of  all 
l)is  children. 

But  our  Heavenly  Father  always  punishes  in  love,  to 
save  the  offender,  and,  through  the  suffering  of  any  one,  to 
make  better  many  more  and  thus  protect  from  injury  them- 
selves and  others.  Here,  then,  is  our  Key  Note. 

Precautions. 

(1.)  We  will  not  punish  in  haste,  but  with  all  long  suffer 

ing,  will  win  if  possible,  by  gentler  means. 
210 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  211 

(2.)  We  will  not  punish  in  anger,  and  thus  more  effectu 
ally  alienate  those  whom  we  have  failed  to  win  by  incentives. 

(3.)  We  will  not  use  such  methods  of  punishment  as  will 
give  unnecessary  physical  pain  or  mental  distress. 

(4.)  We  will  not  punish,  expecting  to  force  pupils  into 
good  conduct,  but  if  at  all,  to  restrain  them  from  bad  conduct. 

(5.)  We  will  not  punish  by  imposing  any  school  duty  or 
exercise,  as  a  punishment ;  and  by  this  means  make  that  duty 
or  exercise  and  all  others  burdensome  and  hateful. 

(6.)  We  will  not  punish  by  making  the  school-house  a 
prison  and  ourselves  the  jailors. 

(7.)  We  will  not  punish  simply  to  vindicate  our  own  con- 
sistency. It  is  better  to  violate  our  word  when  we  find  our- 
selves wrong,  than  to  demonstrate  our  regard  for  the  truth 
by  committing  a  greater  wrong. 

General  Tenor  of  Judicious  Funislttnent. 

(1.)  Copying,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  the  great  Original  we 
will  adapt  the  penalty  to  the  offence. 

In  the  human  constitution  if  the  eyes  are  abused  they 
suffer,  if  the  stomach  is  gorged  it  is  compelled  to  rest.  The 
nerves  of  the  skin  are  not  made  to  smart  for  every  misuse  of 
every  other  part  of  the  system. 

(2.)  We  will  delay  punishment  until  the  majority  of  the 
Rchool  shall  consider  the  teacher  the  suffering  party,  and- 
sympathy  shall  be  on  his  side,  rather  than  on  that  of  the 
offender. 

(3.)  We  will  so  administer  the  punishment  as  not  to  turn 
the  tide  of  sympathy  in  favor  of  the  offender,  and  thus  render 
the  punishment  a  greater  bar  to  our  success  than  the  offence 
it  is  designed  to  remedy. 

For  the  convenience  of  discussion  I  shall  classify  Penal- 
ties into  Proper  and  Improper. 

I.  PKOPER  PENALTIES. 

1.  Privation  of  Mediations. 

If  a  teacher  hasn't  the  power  of  making  every  recitation 
attractive,  he  should  strive  to  obtain  this  power.  Some  of 
the  ways  and  means  to  accomplish  this  necessary  end,  I  have 


212  LECTUKE   XVII. 

given  in  Lecture  II,  in  showing  how  a  love  of  any  branch  may 
be  obtained;  in  Lecture  III,  in  discussing  the  'Teaching 
Power;'  also  in  Lecture  V,  in  demonstrating  that  a  love  of  the 
Work  is  a  necessary  qualification,  and  in  presenting  the 
methods  by  which  it  can  be  obtained. 

If,  then,  the  teacher  has  not  the  skill  and  interest  in  teach- 
ing any  branch  which  shall  make  it  possible  for  him  to  use 
the  privation  of  recitation  in  that  branch  as  a  penalty,  his 
first  business  is  to  secure  the  necessary  ability.  If  he  can  not, 
he  is  abusing  not  only  that  branch  of  study,  but  the  minds 
of  the  pupils.  He  is,  moreover,  fixing  the  habit  of  disrelish 
lor  study,  so  far  as  that  branch  is  concerned,  and  it  will  not 
help  the  matter  to  compel  the  class  or  any  pupil  in  the  class 
to  make  up  for  any  remissness  by  extra  study  in  that  branch, 
This  course,  so  generally  pursued,is  only  making  bad,  worse. 
It  is  the  teacher's  fault,  that  the  class  are  not  interested,  and 
why  should  he  punish  the  class  for  his  malfeasance  by  the 
imposition  of  a  still  larger  amount  of  the  same  evil. 

Again,  if  some  pupil,  when  deprived  of  a  recitation, 
should  seem  to  say  in  his  actions,  "That  is  just  what  I  like,  I 
didn't  want  to  recite,  I  didn't  know  any  thing  about  my  les- 
Bon,  and  I  don't  intend  to,"  it  will  be  found,  if  the  teacher  will 
hold  on  his  course  patiently,  that  such  a  pupil  will  presently 
come  round,  and  be  willing  to  make  a  good  effort.  The  laugh 
of  the  class  will  be  against  him,  and  he  can't  stand  it.  lie 
may  also  be  informed  that  unless  he  can  sustain  himself  in 
this  class,  or  at  least  make  some  proper  effort  to  do  so, he 
will  be  unable  to  retain  his  place  in  the  class,  and  will  thus 
be  compelled  to  join  a  lower  class. 

2.  Privation  of  Recess. 

I  have  shown  in  Lecture  XV,  how  this  penalty  may  bo 
introduced  by  a  vote  of  the  school,  for  the  violation  of  any 
enacted  rule,  or  law. 

The  teacher  should  strive  to  bring  about  such  a  state  of 
feeling  among  the  pupils,  in  regard  to  the  law  or  laws  estab- 
lished, that  their  conscientious  self-reporting  may  permit  him 
to  stand  in  their  defence,  by  showing  that  the  penalty  is  not 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  213 

deserved,  as  for  a  willful  act,  but  is  suffered  as  a  means  of  aid- 
ing the  pupil  to  more  care  and  watchfulness  in  sustaining  the- 
law.  So  it  will  be  seen  that  the  teacher  can  be  inflexible  in 
the  administration  of  the  law  and  its  penalty,  and  yet  char- 
itable in  attributing  motives  to  the  violators,  and  kindly  dis- 
posed in  interpreting  their  purposes  and  intentions. 

The  propriety  of  this  penalty  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  if 
the  pupil  takes  the  time  of  his  study  hour  for  communication 
or  play,  it  is  no  more  than  right  that  he  should  be  deprived 
of  his  play  time,  as  a  compensation. 

In  every  case  when  a  pupil  is  deprived  of  recess,  he  should 
be  permitted  to  "  go  out  "  two  minutes,  after  recess.  But 
only  one  should  be  out  at  a  time. 

3.    Private  Reproof. 

The  first  object  of  every  true  teacher  will  be  in  every 
case,  to  retain  or  win  the  good  will  of  his  erring  pupil.  Any 
unnecessary  exposure  or  uncalled  for  severity  in  reproof  does 
not  exhibit  a  friendly  spirit,  nor  will  it  win  friendship.  Hence 
tongue  castigations,  before  a  school,  can  not  do  the  offender 
any  good,  but  worse  than  that,  they  turn  the  sympathy  of  the 
school  against  the  teacher  and  in  favor  of  the  offender ;  thus 
every  scolding  makes  the  state  of  the  case  worse,  and  in- 
creases the  demand  for  more  of  the  same  article. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  pupil  realizes  that  the 
teacher  regards  his  feelings,  and  it  is  only  from  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  that  the  reproof  is  offered  at  all,  and  yet  it  is 
done  so  as  to  annoy  the  pupil  the  least  possible,  that  pupil 
will  thank  the  teacher  for  his  kindness  in  the  matter,  and 
make  a  good  effort  for  amendment ;  whereas,  in  the  former 
case,  he  would  only  be  alienated  or  enraged,  and  declare  to 
his  school  mates,  that  he  hated  the  teacher  and  would  make 
him  all  the  trouble  he  possibly  could. 

4.  Reproof  Before  a   Class,  or  Before  the  School. 

I  d)  not  deny  that  there  may  be  cases,  in  which  public 
reproof  or  remonstrance  may  be  necessary,  but  even  in  any 
such  cases,  it  is  better  to  make  the  remarks  general  rather 
than  personal,  unless  in  case  of  open  impudence  or  insolence 


214  LECTUKE   XVII. 


5.  Privation  of  Position  in  a  Class. 

If  a  pupil  fail  through  carelessness,  continual  idleness,  or 
absence,  to  keep  up  with  his  class,  it  is  immeasurably  better 
to  remove  him  from  the  class,  than  to  compel  him  to  study 
to  "  catch  up  with  the  class."  By  the  former  plan,  his  study 
and  his  class  position  are  held  as  desirable  objects  of  which 
he  is  deprived ;  by  the  latter  course,  coercion  makes  study 
hateful,  and  puts  idleness  at  a  premium.  Who  can  not  see 
it?  Why  will  teachers  continue  to  take  that  course  which 
more  than  any  other  makes  their  occupation  a  tread-mill  and 
life  a  burden?  But  worse  than- this,  why  do  the  great  major- 
ity of  teachers  in  all  schools  and  colleges  persist  in  making 
their  pupils  consider  shirking  and  shamming  as  honorable, 
and  industrious  application  as  only  the  part  of  a  menial  or  a 
soft  pate  ?  It  is  this  course  which  has  given  occasion  for  so 
many  opprobrious  epithets,  ready  to  be  applied  to  any  student 
who  shall  resist  the  general  current  of  college  life,  and  really 
make  good  use  of  the  advantages  which  the  institution 
affords.  The  more  common  epithet  for  the  diligent  student, 
one  who  prefers  industry  to  idleness  or  wickedness,  is  that  of 
'Dig.'  To  this  is  not  unfrequently  added  Spoon,  Spooney, 
Scrub,  Spy,  Boot-licker,  Bore,  Blue,  Blue-light,  Blue-skin,  etc., 
each  of  which  is  applied  according  to  circumstances. 

Who  ever  heard  any  of  these  epithets  used  here  ? 

6.  Daily  and  Weekly  Reports. 

Such  reports  given,  as  described  in  my  last  lecture,  main- 
ly for  the  purpose  of  incentives,  may  of  course  become  ef- 
fective as  penalties,  and  the  more  so,  as  the  general  charac- 
ter of  the  reports  improve,  under  a  kindly  and  successful 
management.  A  poor  report  under  such  circumstances  will 
of  itself  be  all  the  correction  that  a  pupil  may  need,  for  any 
remissness  whatever. 

7.  Notes  to  Parents. 

Notes  to  parents  by  safe  hands,  stating  facts  of  absence, 
tardiness,  or  any  bad  habit  or  act,  may  under  suitable  cir 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  215 

cumstances  be  very  thankfully  received  by  parents,  and  may 
be  made  very  helpful  in  restraining  the  pupil,  or  in  helping 
him  to  restrain  himself  from  indulgence  in  some  careless  habit 
or  vicious  propensity.  But  it  is  one  of  those  helps  which 
must  be  used  with  discretion  or  it  will  only  increase  the  evil. 
The  parents  are  very  likely  to  array  themselves  against  the 
teacher,  and  thus  confirm  the  child  in  the  wrong. 

8.  Suspension. 

It  is  understood  that  the  power  of  suspending  a  pupil  has 
been  derived  from  the  Directors,  by  contract,  as  was  de- 
scribed in  Lecture  XIII.  The  teacher  will  hold  this  power 
in  reserve  as  the  last  to  which  he  can  resort.  He  will  always 
confess  to  himself  that  it  is  only  for  want  of  sufficient  per- 
sonal attraction,  or  adequate  strategic  ability  that  he  finds 
himself  compelled  to  fall  back  on  the  Directors.  Taking 
this  view,  he  will  be  strongly  incited  to  more  patience,  more 
contrivance,  still  one  more  expedient,  one  more  trial  of  the 
pupil,  before  he  gives  him  over  to  the  Directors  as  beyond 
his  power  to  manage.  And  even  then  it  is  the  teacher  that 
is  under  trial  as  much  as  the  pupil. 

9.  Expulsion. 

I  ought  hardly  to  include  this  penalty  among  those  per- 
taining to  the  teacher's  school  management.  The  Directors,  I 
conceive,  are  the  only  authority  empowered  to  deprive  a  pupil 
of  his  school  privileges.  Yet  as  a  probable  result  of  a  hear- 
ing of  the  case  before  the  Board  of  Directors — this  may 
perhaps  be  made  use  of  in  argument  with  an  incorrigible 
pupil,  not  so  much  in  the  way  of  threatening,  as  an  inevit- 
able result  to  be  dreaded  by  both  teacher  and  pupil. 

10.   Corporal  Punishment. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  the  propriety  or  necessity 
of  corporal  punishment  here.  Notwithstanding  it  is  a  prom- 
inent object  in  this  system  of  ^Normal  School  Management' 
to  enable  the  teacher  to  govern  his  school  without  degrad- 
ing himself  by  the  use  of  any  form  of  corporal  punishment, 


216  LECTURE   XVII. 

T  would  not  advise  any  teacher  to  take  the  position  before 
his  school  or  elsewhere  that  he  will  never  use  the  rod.  It 
may  be  necessary,  and  is  much  more  likely  to  become  so,  if 
the  teacher  shall  declare  that  he  will  not  use  any  form  of 
physical  punishment. 

I  know  of  several  instances  where  young  men  have 
avowed  such  a  purpose  on  opening  their  schools,  and  were 
compelled  to  abandon  their  school  or  take  back  their  avowal 
In  every  one  of  these  cases  the  declaration  appeared  to 
me  very  unfortunate,  inasmuch  as,  if  it  had  not  been  made  I 
thought  from  the  character  of  the  young  men  they  would 
have  succeeded  without  the  necessity  of  corporal  punish- 
ment. 

11.    Withholding  Friendship. 

The  true  teacher  of  the  highest  grade  only,  can  resort  to 
this  form  of  punishment  with  good  effect.  Where  an  ordinary, 
or  even  a  tolerably  good  teacher,  would  make  his  denial  of 
the  ordinary  kindly  intercourse  a  means  of  provoking  scill 
greater  wrongs,  and  perhaps  personal  insult  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil,  that  teacher  who  knows  and  feels  that  his  smile 
is  the  life  and  power  of  his  school  may  with  the  very  best 
effect  withhold  such  kindly  expression  from  some  individual 
who  has  thoughtlessly  or  wantonly  trespassed  on  the  law  of 
kindness  in  regard  to  some  other  pupil.  I  only  mention  this 
as  one  of  the  occasions  where  such  a  penalty  may  be  proper 
<md  very  effective. 

12.  Special  Penalties. 

There  is  no  class  of  general  penalties  which  will  afford 
the  best  correction  for  the  ten  thousand  special  evils  arising 
incidentally  from  the  ever  varying  peculiarities  of  disposi- 
tions, and  the  endless  novelties  of  circumstances.  The 
ingenious  teacher  will  often  better  resort  to  special  penalties 
growing  out  of  the  special  character  of  the  offense  rather 
than  apply  any  general  penalty,  whatever.  I  can,  perhaps, 
illustrate  by  an  example  or  two  : 

John  has  a  new  jack-knife,  the  first  he  ever  owned.     He 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  217 

must  snap  the  blade,  even  after  requested  several  times  not 
to  do  so.  He  can  not  help  it.  Now,  it  will  be  better  to  ask 
him  to  place  the  knife  on  your  table,  than  to  inflict  any  pun- 
ishment recognized  as  such.  The  smile  of  the  pupils  at  his 
expense  will  be  all  the  correction  the  case  requires.  The 
knife  will  of  course  soon  be  returned  to  him,  and  will  give 
no  more  trouble. 

Sarah  will  keep  combing  and  "fixing"  her  hair.  Even  after 
being  requested  not  to  spend  so  much  of  her  school  time  on 
her  toilet,  she  still  persists.  Now,  if  after  requesting  her 
repeatedly  not  to  waste  so  much  time,  and  she  still  con- 
tinues in  the  practice,  it  may  be  well  to  request  her  to 
stand  up  every  time  she  feels  it  necessary  to  rearrange 
her  hair.  It  might  help  her  to  understand  how  much  time 
she  bestows  on  her  hair,  and  thus  calling  the  attention 
of  the  school  to  the  matter  in  a  kindly  way,  enable  her  to 
overcome  the  difficulty.  Probably  in  such  a  case,  however, 
a  private  conversation  with  Sarah  would  have  a  better  effect 
in  checking  the  evil,  and  in  holding  her  good  will. 

Samuel,  in  his  uneasiness,  has  discovered  that  his  desk 
can  be  made  to  creak  and  the  temptation  is  too  strong  for  him 
to  resist.  Now  the  better  way,perhaps,in  this  case  would  be  to 
set  him,  during  a  recess  or  intermission,  to  remedying  the  evil 
by  repairing  the  desk.  If  this  is  impracticable,  a  change  of 
seat  with  some  more  quiet  pupil  would  be  better  than  any 
more  common  or  general  penalty. 

William  brings  apples  and  nuts  to  school  and  is  inclined 
to  eat  them  during  study  time.  Of  course  a  general  request 
has  been  made  that  pupils  will  not  eat  or  chew  any  thing 
while  engaged  in  study.  But  William  disregards  the  request, 
and  is  noticed  eating  or  chewing  somewhat  furtively,  even 
after  being  requested  to  eat  only  in  time  of  recess.  It 
may  be  well  to  propose  to  set  apart  a  special  time  by  the 
clock  each  hour  for  William  to  do  up  the  business  of  eating, 
which  seems  so  necessary  for  his  well-being.  You  may  in 
quire  of  him  how  much  time  he  wishes  to  devote  to  it,  as  it 
will  be  better  to  do  one  thing  at  a  time,  and  do  it  well, 
rather  than  attempt  to  study  at  a  difficult  lesson  and  have 


LECTURE   XVIT. 

his  mind  more  than  half  engaged  in  a  different  direction, 
on  something  more  attractive. 

Concluding  Remarks  on  Proper  Penalties. 

There  is  no  penalty  nor  class  of  penalties  enumerated 
here,  which  may  not  become  entirely  improper  by  misappli- 
cation, or  by  being  inflicted  in  a  bad.  spirit.  The  spirit  and 
feeling  of  the  teacher  in  carrying  out  any  plan  of  school 
management,  whether  by  incentives  or  by  penalties,  is  of 
much  more  importance  than  the  kind  of  penalty  or  incentive 
used  in  the  p  irticular  case  of  Discipline. 

And  most  especially  would  I  urge,  again  and  again,  that 
the  teacher  do  not  permit  himself  by  impatience  or  petu- 
lance, and  thus  by  seeming  ill  feeling  toward  the  offender,  to 
turn  the  tide  of  sympathy  in  the  school  against  himself  and 
his  mode  and  degree  of  punishment  as  vindictive  or  spiteful. 
No  punishment  with  the  exhibition  of  such  a  feeling  can  do 
any  good,  but  will,  in  every  case,  make  more  punishments 
necessary,  till  the  school  shall  become  a  very  prison  or 
bedlam. 

II.  IMPROPER  PENALTIES. 

I  shall  only  enumerate  some  of  the  more  common  im- 
proper penalties,  and  shall  leave  the  discussion  of  their  evils 
or  benefits,  if  they  have  any,  to  yourselves  : 

1.  Threatening  individual  or  general  punishment. 

2.  Scolding  at  individuals  or  at  the  school. 

3.  Asking  for  excuses  either  written  or  oral. 

4.  Whipping  as  it  is  generally  practiced,  i.  0.,as  the  com- 
mon punishment  for  every  kind  of  offense. 

5.  Compulsory  study,  inflicted  as  a  punishment.     Com- 
pulsory study  is  worse  than  its  own  negation  in   any  case, 
but  when  imposed  as  a  punishment  it  is   as  sure  to  drive  the 
pupil  into  a  hatred  of  study,  school,  and  teacher,  as  forcing 
an  orange  into  a  child's  mouth  would  be  to  make  him  resist 
it.     Yet  I  am  aware  compulsory  study  is  the  common  prac- 
tice in  nearly  all  public  schools.     The  Teachers  generally 
say,  "Why,  our  pupils  wouldn't  study  a  particle  if  we  let 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  219 

them  have  their  own  way  about  it."  I  reply  :  This  state  of 
feeling  with  both  teacher  and  pupils  is  the  inevitable  result 
of  this  terrible  malpractice  in  school  management. 

6.  Any  form  of  physical  torture  or  mental  distress  beyond 
the  absolute  demand  of  the  case,  any  sudden  or  violent  ac- 
tion, as  throwing  rulers  or  slapping  the  head,  are  not  only 
highly  improper  but  dangerously  criminal. 

7.  Any  punishment  whatever  beyond  the  school-yard,  or, 
indeed,  any  punishment  in  the  school-room,  for  acts  com- 
mitted beyond  the  school -yard  I  consider  entirely  improper 
and  badly  impolitic. 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 


LECTUKE  XYII1. 


STKATEGY  AND  TACTICS. 


PRELIMINARY. 


1.  School  Strategy  Defined. 

1  shall  use  the  term  strategy  in  this  discussion  more  in 
the  sense  of  contrivance  by  which  an  evil  can  be  averted  or 
changed  into  a  good,  a  difficulty  forestalled  or  converted  into 
an  advantage,  than  in  the  sense  of  outwitting  by  pretended 
movements. 

Strategy  means  generalship,  but  generalship  does  not 
(necessarily  signify  deceit  or  over  reaching,  but  rather  man- 
agement by  far  reaching  views  and  appropriate  tactics. 

School    Work  a  Training  for  Life    Work. 

It  requires  but  little  observation  to  discover  that  he  who 

rises  through  difficulties  to  an  eminent  position,  is  stronger 

in  that  position  than  he  who  is  born  to  it.     The  training  of 

school  life  could  be  no  training,  were  there  no  difficulties 

220 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  221 

Involved  in  it;  but  if  these  difficulties  and  temptations  are 
not  overcome  by  the  pupil  and  made  the  means  of  fortifying- 
him  in  virtuous  action,  (and  this  must  be  effected  by  the 
strategy  of  the  teacher,  if  at  all),  the  end  is  lost,  perverted, 
and  these  difficulties  and  temptations  become  inevitably  the 
means  of  training  the  pupil  to  moral  delinquency,  to  self- 
indulgence  in  idleness,  to  the  uncontrolled  sway  of  appetites, 
passions  and  lusts. 

I  claim, then, that  difficulties  and  temptations  are  an  indis- 
pensable-and  invaluable  part  of  school  training;  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  unless  the  teacher  has  the  moral  power, 
enterprise,  and  skill  to  convert  these  difficulties  and  apply 
them  to  their  legitimate  ends,  the  school  will  only  contribute 
to  the  demoralization  of  the  pupil ;  and  that  the  teacher  only 
aids  in  the  work  of  establishing  habits  of  laziness,  license 
and  worthlessness.  It  is  with  such  views  tliat  I  come  to  the 
discussion  of  this  morning's  theme. 

3.   T/ie  Common  Idea  of  Teaching  as  Derived  from  Mona*>- 

ticism. 

Monasticism  inflicts  pains  and  penances,  with  no  highei 
end  than  to  mortify  the  flesh  and  purify  the  spirit  of  the  indi- 
vidual—suffering by  self-infliction.  This  is  in  cfirect  antago- 
nism to  the  all-diffusive,  all-loving  spirit  of  true  Christian 
benevolence.  The  devoted  follower  of  Jesus  has  no  time  to 
waste  in  chastising  himself,  in  counting  beads,  in  keeping 
vigils,  in  kneeling  on  bare  pavements  or  on  pebbles.  His 
soul  is  all  aglow  with  desire  to  bless  and  save  his  fellow 
men.  His  life  is  full  of  generous  exertion  to  this  end,  and 
thus  is-  but  one  continued  hymn  of  praise  to  his  Redeemer. 
Now  the  Good  Father  has  not  made  such  a  blunder  in  our 
constitutions  that  the  training  of  ourselves  and  our  chil- 
dren to  a  virtuous  life  shall  necessarily  be  painful  and  repul- 
sive  ;  as,  for  instance,  memorizing  long  pages  of  meaningless 
words  in  any  science,  or  in  determining  the  measure  of  innu- 
merable Latin  words,  or  in  the  composition  of  Latin  verses  as 
is  still  practiced  in  the  schools  and  universities  of  England. 


222  LECTUEE   XVIII. 

No,  by  no  such  distressing  means  are  we  compered  to  work 
for  the  attainment  for  a  high  degree  of  mental  and  moral 
culture,  and  power  of  service  in  the  Master's  vineyard. 
Throwing  off  the  time-worn  shackles  of  the  ascetics  and  the 
monks,  we  are  permitted  to  feel  and  know  as  teachers  that 
our  work  is  no  longer  one  continued  imposition  of  tasks  and 
enforcing  of  compulsory  labor  by  floggings,  imprisonments 
and  expulsions,  but  rather  the  leading  of  the  lambs  in  the 
paths  which  the  great  Shepherd  has  so  kindly  provided.  For 
"He  knoweth  his  Own  and  they  follow  him."  It  remains  for 
us  as  teachers  to  discover  these  "paths  of  pleasantness,' 
to  delight  in  them  ourselves,  and  devise  means  by  which  we 
can  lead  (not  drive)  those  committed  to  our  guidance.  It  is 
true  that  we  have  numerous  and  formidable  difficulties  to  con- 
tend with,  but  nearly  all  of  these  are  the  habits  and  usages 
inseparable  from  the  monkish  training,  still  continuing  in 
our  families  and  schools,  "Relics  of  the  Dark  Ages;"  but  it 
is  the  constant  aim  of  these  Normal  Methods  of  school  man- 
agement to  drive  barbarism  and  monasticis-m  from  the  school- 
room and  to  introduce  the  principles  of  Christianity  and  the 
disciplinary  usages  in  accordance  with  these  principles.  This 
is  our  Strategy. 

Normal  Strategy  and  Normal  Tactics,  then,  are  but 
converting  the  very  ideal  of  discipline  from  that  of  the  burden- 
some, the  repulsive,  the  compulsory,  into  that  of  the  attract- 
ive, the  winning,  the  saving;  and  so  making  use  of  the  diffi- 
culties arising  from  previous  monkish  training  even,  that  by 
contrivance  and  contrast  they  shall  contribute  to  the  more 
beautiful  attainment  of  our  new  ideal.  While  I  claim  that 
1  his  ideal  can  be  maintained  through  the  entire  course  of 
school  life  from  the  a  b  c  drill  to  the  university  graduation,  it 
Is  only  my  purpose  here  to  give  a  few  examples  of  strategy 
in  common  school  management  by  which  I  conceive  this 
ideal  has  in  many  cases  been  measurably  attained,  hoping 
thus  to  afford  some  succor  and  encouragement  to  those  of 
you  who  have  so  joyfully  labored  in  the  same  glad  spirit  of 
enthusiasm  in  all  the  way  in  which  your  teachers  have  led 
you,  here. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  223 

NORMAL  STRATEGY.— NORMAL  TACTICS. 
Teaching  the  Alphabet. 

The  'ts  nat  method  of  teaching  the  alphabet  is  terrible  to 
contemplate.  It  is  the  method  in  which  all  of  us  pre£ent 
were  taught.  I  suppose  we  have  forgotten  the  dreary  days 
of  wearisome  weeping,  and  we  ought  to  be  thankful.  But  I 
fear  many  of  you  have  been  pushing,  scolding,  pinching  and 
shaking  the  little  ones  through  those  tearful  columns,  won- 
dering why  children  are  so  dull.  Now,  Teacher,  you  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  phonic  method  of  our  Training 
Class,  and  no  doubt  have  said  to  yourself,  "  AVhy  was  I  so  dull 
as  to  attempt  to  force  and  scold  children  into  that  which  may 
be  made  so  delightful,  so  exciting  ?" 

You  have  seen  how  this  difficulty  can  be  converted,  not 
so  much  into  an  advantage  as  into  a  joy,  a  delight.  What 
play  or  game  can  keep  a  phonic  pupil  away  from  his  reading 
exercise  ?  But  does  this  Normal  phonic  method  of  teaching 
require  more  time  and  labor  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  ?  No, 
you  have  well  judged  that  it  saves  more  than  three-fourths  of 
the  time  required  by  any  other  method,  not  excepting  the 
more  recently  introduced  word  method,  or  the  other  phonic 
methods  so  called.  But  the  point  I  wish  to  make  is  that  in  this 
case  strategy  converts  repulsive  drudgery  into  attractive  and 
exciting  exercise,  and  that  which  before  made  it  necessary 
to  force  the  little  fellows  off  to  school,  now  draws  them  in 
spite  of  themselves.  I  have  known  a  little  boy  to  run  away 
from  home  without  his  dinner  in  order  to  read  with  his  class. 
A  little  girl  who  was  detained  by  a  sore  throat  from  one  exer- 
cise making  her  appearance  at  the  second,  I  enquired,  "  How 
is  this,  Maggie,  I  heard  you  were  sick  and  couldn't  come  to 
school  to-day."  "  I  be  sick,  and  ma  wouldn't  let  me  come, 
but  1  cried  and  cried,  and  I  made  her  let  me  come." 

Study  a  Burden.      Study  a  Delight. 

I  do  not  believe  the  human  soul  so  constructed  that  with 
all  its  insatiable  thirsting  for  knowledge,  its  ever  increasing 
longings  after  the  'reason  why,'  and  the  * object  for  which,1 


224  LECTURE   XVIII. 

there  need  be  any  force  applied  to  compel  it  to  gratify  these 
indestructible  cravings.  On  the  other  hand  the  use  of  force 
i*  the  main  'reason  why'  study  is  a  burden,  in  spite  of  these 
natural  inclinations.  It  is  given  as  a  task.  The  teacher,  the 
Professor  in  most  cases,  is  little  else  than  a  task-master. 

It  is,then,the  office  of  Normal  Strategy  and  Normal  Tac- 
tics to  take  advantage  of  the  means  that  the  "God  of 
nature  has  put  in  our  power"  and  change  the  entire  charac- 
ter of  the  school  work.  Who  does  not  know  that  free  and 
cheerful  labor  is  ten  times  more  effective  in  any  direction 
than  slave  labor? 

I  have  shown  in  Lecture  XII  how  a  Mental  Arithmetic 
class  may  be  made  attractive  and  exciting,  and  that  pupils 
properly  managed  will  study  their  Mental  Arithmetic  lessons 
with  as  much  zeal  and  gusto  as  if  engaged  in  any  game  or 
sport.  If  a  teacher  can  exercise  that  degree  of  strategy,  and 
practice  that  kind  of  tactics  that  will  render  the  study  of 
Mental  Arithmetic  a  success, c  for  the  love  of  it,'  he  can  hardly 
fail  in  any  other  branch.  All  other  branches  present  a  wider 
range  for  anecdote,  a  better  field  for  illustration,  a  more 
immediate  opportunity  for  useful  application,  from  any  or 
all  of  which  sources  the  teacher  can  draw  the  power  to  inter- 
est his  classes,  and  stimulate  them  to  love  study. 

In  connection  with  Mental  Arithmetic,  let  me  say  that 
difficult  problems  in  Mental  Arithmetic,  Written  Arithmetic 
or  in  Algebra  are  not  mastered,  nor  is  any  determined  effort 
made  to  solve  them  by  the  majority  *of  any  class  that  is 
managed  on  the  force  plan  or  on  the  prize  plan.  This  is 
true  enough,  I  fancy,  in  the  past  experience  of  nearly  all  of 
us  as  pupils.  But  a  still  worse  method  of  paralyzing  the 
energy  of  a  class  in  mathematics,  is  for  the  teacher  to  work 
all  the  difficult  examples,  and  give  all  the  explanations  and 
demonstrations.  The  teacher  who  does  all  the- work  for  the 
class,  is  not  only  a  lazy  teacher  himself,  but  will  inevitably 
make  a  lazy,  listless  class,  growing  more  so,  until,  one  by 
one,  they  drop  off,  like  gorged  ticks  not  able  to  hold  on 
longer.  Unless  a  teacher  can  inspire  his  class  with 
a  love  of  overcoming  difficulties  and  a  pride  in  doing  it,  he 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  225 

will  come  very  far  short  of  my  ideal.  I  once  heard  a  teacher 
in  assigning  a  lesson  say  something  like  this,  "The  four- 
teenth example  is  somewhat  difficult,  I  think  most  of  yon 
can  work  it;  the  fifteenth  is  rather  knotty,  I  fear  that  only  a 
few  will  he  able  to  master  it;  the  sixteenth  and  last  in  the 
lesson  is  the  most  complicated  problem  of  the  kind  I  ever 
saw,  and  I  doubt  whether  one  in  the  class  can  conquer  it 
without  help."  I  overheard  a  pupil  say  as  she  left  the  room, 
"I  will  work  it  if  it  breaks  my  neck."  Sure  enough,  many  of 
the  pupils  at  the  next  recitation  signified  that  they  had 
solved  every  example.  But  suppose  no  pupil  had  succeeded 
the  first  day,  should  the  teacher  have  then  worked  the  exam- 
ple for  them.  By  no  means.  He  would  rather  inquire,  "  How 
many  would  like  to  try  that  sixteenth  example  another  day? 
Just  as  soon  as  you  c  own  up  beat'  I'll  come  to  the  rescue:" 
and  the  class  would  all  vote  to  try  it  again.  A  class  trained 
with  the  kind  of  tactics  of  which  this  example  is  but  an  out- 
cropping, can  not  fail  to  be  enthusiastic ;  every  member  of 
the  class  will  partake  of  the  enthusiasm,  and  hard  study  will 
have  more  fun  in  it  than  any  deviltry  that  can  be  proposed. 
Tricks  upon  teachers  are  but  the  necessary  result  of  their 
want  of  ability  to  manage  the  natural  forces  of  their  pupils, 
and  to  incite  and  guide  those  forces  to  legitimate  and  worthy 
ends.  Viewed  in  this  light, are  not  most  college  Professors 
and  Presidents,  partial  or  perfect  failures? 

Parents'  Interference    Converted. 

While  teaching  and  superintending  in  Marlboro,  Ohio,  I 
first  introduced  the  phonic  method  of  teaching  the  alphabet, 
using  Longley's  Phonetic  Primer.  The  Primary  teacher 
informed  me  that  Lizzie  Griffith  had  been  kept  out  of  school 
because  her  father  did  not  like  the  new-fashioned  phonetic 
letters  in  the  primer.  At  the  first  convenient  opportunity,  I 
called  to  see  Mr.  Griffith.  I  found  him  at  a  machinist's  lathe 
engaged  in  turning. 

"How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Griffith?" 

"Howde  do,  sir?" 

"Miss  Dakin  says  that  Lizzie  was  not  in  school  to-day." 

"I  thought  I  wouldn't  send  her  any  more  at  present." 

"  What  is  the  difficulty  ? " 
15 


'LECTURE    XVIII. 

"  Why — well — ahem — I  don't  know  about — I  don't  under- 
stand  them  new  kind  of  books  that  the  children  has  to  learn 
to  read  from." 

"Is  not  Lizzie  interested?" 

"  Yeas,  she  is  interested  enough,  that  ain't  no  difference ; 
but  I'm  afraid  of  them  books." 

"  Why  are  you  afraid  of  the  books  ? " 

"  Why,  aint  them  infidel  books  ?  I  don't  find  no  such  let- 
ters as  them  in  my  testament." 

Mr.  Griffith  was  a  worthy  church  member. 

"No,  sir;  these  primers  have  no  infidelity  in  them,  as 
you  can  readily  ascertain  by  reading  them." 

"But  I  can't  read  'em." 

"  Well,  it  is  very  easy  to  read  them  by  the  use  of  the 
key.  But  1  have  a  Testament  at  home  in  the  same  kind  of 
type." 

"  What,  is  that  so  ?     Well,  I'd  like  to  see  it" 

"  I'll  bring  it  over." 

"Well,  I  guess  you  needn't  take  the  trouble.  I  think 
Lizzie  can  go  to  school  again.  She's  cryin'  herself  sick,  'cause 
I  wouldn't  let  her  go.  I'se  afraid  there  was  something  wicked 
'bout  them  new  fangled  letters.  But  I  guess  it's  all  right. 
1  am  much  obleeged  to  ye." 

"  Not  at  all,  sir.     Good  day,  Mr.  Griffith." 

Parents'  Indifference  Converted. 

We  teachers  all  know  that  it  is  immeasurably  more  diffi- 
cult to  manage  the  parents  and  get  them  interested  in  their 
school,  and  in  their  children's  advancement  than  it  is  to  man- 
age the  children.  All  sorts  of  planning  and  contrivance 
are  required  in  this  direction. 

One  young  lady  recently  reports  that  she  succeeded  so 
well  in  interesting  her  older  pupils  ( that  class  which  generally 
furnishes  the  "  hard  cases,")  in  Book-keeping,  that  one  of  the 
Directors  proposed  that  she  should  teach  an  evening  class 
of  "  old  folks."  She  consented,  adding  considerably  to  her 
salary ;  but,  better  than  this,  she  was  enabled,  by  this  means, 
to  enlist  the  parents  in  various  improvements  for  the  benefit 
of  the  school. 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  227 

Closing  exercises,  in  the  form  of  exhibitions,  may  be  so 
managed  as  to  be  very  profitable  to  the  pupils  and  interest- 
ing to  the  parents.  But  examinations  as  they  are  too  often 
conducted  are  a  sham  and  a  nuisance,  and  do  nothing  but 
evil  in  every  direction. 

The  exhibitions  should  consist  entirely  of  original  essays 
and  colloquies  declaimed,  not  read ;  of  readings  of  selected 
pieces;  of  scientific  experiments  and  illustrations  by  the 
pupils ;  of  reports  of  the  six  best  pupils  in  every  branch — in 
decorum,  in  promptitude,  in  regular  attendance,  and  the 
awarding  of  prizes  in  penmanship  by  the  committee  selected. 
Not  infrequently  will  the  faithful  teacher,  on  such  occasions, 
be  surprised  with  a  present  from  his  pupils.  Some  teachers 
are  able  to  sustain  monthly  exercises  in  declamation,  in 
composition  reading,  or  in  some  exercise  in  the  regular 
branches,  which  are  sufficiently  attractive  to  draw  the  parents 
into  the  school.  Thus  the  enlisting  of  parents  serves  to  deepen 
the  interest  of  both  parents  and  pupils  in  the  school  and  its 
daily  work.  As  I  have  shown  in  Lecture  XIII,  a  suitable 
interest  manifested  by  the  teacher  in  "getting  a  good  ready" 
before  he  commences  school  is  almost  an  infallible  prevent- 
ive of  parental  indifference.  Here  comes  in  the  power  and 
beauty  of  strategy.  I  suppose  you  apprehend,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  by  this  time  what  I  mean  by  school  strategy  and 
school  tactics,  and  that  its  chief  element  is  an  entire  conse- 
cration to  the  work  of  blessing,  saving  those  under  your 
charge.  Can  this  be  done  by  force  ?  Must  it  not,  then,  be 
accomplished  by  our  own  devotion  to  the  work,  by  our  own 
foresight,  by  our  own  contrivance  and  tact  in  making  use  of 
every  means  within  our  reach? 

False  Reporting --How  Checked. 

In  every  school,  almost,  there  will  be  found  a  class  of 
pupils  who  think  it  smart  to  be  mean  ;  who  conceive  it  quite 
coming  down  to  be  decent,  and  feel  very  much  degraded,  if 
circumstances  are  such,  that  they  have  to  submit  to  the 
wishes  of  the  teacher. 

It  is  with  this  class  of  pupils  that  self-reporting  does  not 


228  LECTURE   XVIII. 

seem  to  work  well  at  first;  and  unless  some  patient  strategy 
more  far-reaching  than  they  are  looking  for,  some  adroit  tac- 
tics sharp  enough  to  flank  these  unfortunates,  can  be  adopted, 
it  may  be  possible  that  they  will  defeat  the  plan  and  make  it 
obnoxious  to  the  old  charge,  that  "it  teaches  lying." 

While  teaching  a  district  school  in  northern  Ohio,  I  had 
several  pupils  from  families  '  squatting  '  on  Granger's  lands. 
Their  parents  made  a  livelihood  by  stealing  stave  and  hoop 
timber  from  "  Granger's  woods,"  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  these  overgrown  boys  of  sixteen  and  seventeen  would 
give  up  and  b?/  decent,  without  a  struggle. 

I  had  adopted  the  self- reporting  system  before  these 
squatter  children  entered  school.  Soon  finding,  however, 
that  they  were  inclined  to  report  falsely  and  to  brag  about  it, 
I  felt  "here's  a  job  to  be  worked  up,  not  so  as  to  crush 
out  and  expel  these  five  or  six  animals  as  animals,  brutes, 
but  if  possible  so  as  to  save  and  win  them  to  love  truth, 
decorum  and  industry.  I  tried  various  expedients,  as,  for 
instance,  having  a  private  talk  with  the  oldest  and  worst. 
This  won  him  to  more  circumspection,  but  not  to  honest 
reporting,  or  to  any  sufficient  effort  to  comply  with  the  rules 
and  improve  his  time. 

One  day,  at  recess,  when  Ruth,  one  of  my  best  girls,  had 
reported  "imperfect,"  all  these  squatters  having  "gone  out" 
with  the  rest  to  enjoy  their  recess,  she  came  to  me  saying, 
witji  tears  in  her  eyes,  "I  think  it  is  too  bad."  "Why  so, 
Ruth?"  "Why,  Mr.  Holbrook,  I  try  to  keep  the  rules—'- 
"I  know  you  do,  Ruth."  "And  there  are  some  of  the  scholars 
who  report  falsely  nearly  all  the  time  arid  get  their  recess, 
1m t  those  of  us  who  try  to  report  correctly  often  lose  our 
recess."  "  It  is  too  bad,  Ruth;  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  way 
the  thing  works  and  know  perfectly  well  who  are  Irving  to 
be  honest  and  sustain  the  rules,  and  who  are  not.  I  shall  try 
to  remedy  the  evil  as  soon  and  as  well  as  I  can."  After  much 
thought  I  concluded  to  adopt  the  following  plan,  which  I 
brought  out  next  morning  in  General  Exercises,  somewhat  in 
this  manner : 

"My  friends,  I  find  this  difficulty  in  our  plan  of  self- report- 
ing: Some  pupils  report  perfect,  when  others  think  thej  are 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  229 

imperfect.  Now,  it  is  very  possible  that  those  who  report 
perfect  think  they  are  right,  and  those  who  judge  them  as 
reporting  falsely  may  be  mistaken.  In  order  to  give  any 
who  are  thus  misjudged  an  opportunity  to  vindicate  them- 
selves, I  am  going  to  call  on  all  who  think  any  one  has 
reported  improperly,  to  say  so,  in  order  to  give  him  a  chance 
to  explain  why  he  reported  as  he  did,  and  to  show  that  his 
report  was  correct.  Thus,  you  see,  if  you  all  try  to  judge 
charitably,  in  the  first  place,  and  then  are  desirous  to  know 
that  every  one  is  trying  to  do  right,  and  are  willing  to  have 
the  explanation  or  confession  of  every  one  who  seems  to 
report  incorrectly,  we  may  secure  a  better  state  of  feeling, 
and  we  shall  know  that  all  are  trying  to  sustain  good  order 
and  make  a  good  school."  "  But,"  says  one  of  the  more 
truthful  pupils,  "Mr.  Holbrook,  you  don't  want  us  to  tell 
tales  on  each  other,  do  you?"  "No,  that  is  not  my  object, 
and  if  I  find  any  spirit  of  recrimination  or  retaliation  arising, 
I  shall  try  to  hold  it  in  check.  It  is  my  purpose  to  give  every 
one  a  chance  to  vindicate  himself  when  any  other  pupil 
thinks  he  has  reported  falsely.  I  want  you  to  learn  to  have 
confidence  in  each  other  and  help  each  other  to  do  right, 
and  not  take  satisfaction  in  blaming  any  one  fordoing  wrong. 
I  only  wish  to  try  the  plan  a  few  days;  if  it  does  not  work 
well  we  can  lay  it  aside;  and  if  it  does,  we  shall  hardly  need 
to  continue  it  long." 

The  plan  worked,  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that 
the  squatter  children  were  just  as  good  pupils  as  I  could 
desire  or  expect,  considering  their  home  associations. 

Hard  Cases— How  Managed. 

In  other  connections  I  have  given  the  course  of  tactics  to 
be  pursued  with  hard  cases.  The  general  plan  is  to  provide 
such  employment  as  shall  interest  them  more  than  their 
mischief  and  wickedness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  let  it  be  dis- 
tinctly understood  that  you  are  able  to  control  them,  and 
are  not  afraid  of  them.  This  is  not  difficult  to  accomplish. 
Either  Book  Keeping  or  Physiology  as  an  extra  branch  can 
be  made  an  exciting  subject  of  study,  and,  if  once  a  pupil 


230  LECTURE  XVIII. 

becomes  interested  in  any  study,  there  is  a  basis  for  further 
action,  and  the  watchful  desire  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to 
approve  of  every  good  effort  will  most  surely  convert  such  a 
hard  case  into  a  friend,  a  docile  and  assiduous  pupil.  There 
is  no  department  of  our  work,  teachers,  that  demands  so 
much  tact  in  carrying  out  our  plans  as  this  ;  the  salvation  of 
those  who  seem  utterly  averse  to  all  good  that  can  come 
from  a  school-master. 

Mischievous    Tricks—How   Cured. 

A  boy  who  seemed  to  enjoy  more  than  almost  any  other 
one  I  ever  met  with,  his  little  tricks  and  annoyances,  still 
persisting  in  trying  new  methods  as  old  ones  were  checked, 
came  around  to  paper  wads  the  second  or  third  time.  I 
requested  him  to  make  three  wads  and  lay  them  on  a  brick 
which  happened  to  be  convenient,  telling  him  that  when  he 
had  them  all  made  and  well  made,  we  would  all  witness  the 
performance  of  his  lodging  them  on  the  ceiling.  He  demurred. 
I  insisted,  saying  it  was  a  pity  that  he  should  enjoy  so  much 
fan  all  by  himself.  He  ought  to  let  the  rest  of  the  school 
have  a  share  in  it.  The  laughter  of  the  school  at  him,  rather 
than  with  him,  as  he  was  throwing  the  wads  seemed  to  be 
effectual.  Pursuing  this  plan  for  a  while,  viz :  compelling 
him  to  do  whatever  he  wished  to,  and  depriving  him  of  the 
privilege  occasionally  of  doing  whatever  I  wished ;  his  prefer- 
ences seemed  to  change  by  degrees,  and  he  learned  how  to 
find  entertainment  in  study  and  decent  conduct. 

Normal   Method  of  Caring   Stammering. 

Some  time  since  I  received  a  letter  from  a  teacher,  inquir 
ing  how  to  cure  a  boy  of  adding  the  syllable  uh  to  almost 
every  word  in  reading.  The  teacher  stated  that  he  had 
tried  every  plan  he  could  think  of,  punishing,  coaxing,  hiring, 
shaming,  and  all  only  made  the  difficulty  worse.  I  replied, 
"If  you  will  compel  the  boy  to  pronounce  the  useless  syllable 
after  every  word  in  his  reading  exercise,  and  persist  in  it  till 
he  is  heartily  sick  of  it,  I  think  you  will  succeed."  I  soon 
heard  that  the  plan  worked  finely.  As  soon  as  the  boy  began 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  231 

to  pronounce  under  compulsion,  the  whole  school  began  to 
laugh.  It  was  too  much  for  him.  He  took  hold  of  the  mat- 
ter himself  in  good  earnest,  and,  of  course,  the  difficulty  soon 
disappeared. 

Evening  Parties— How  Managed. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  a  high  success  in  a  village  graded  school  is  evening  parties. 
Even  if  but  two  or  three  leading  pupils  are  in  the  practice 
of  attending  a  party  once  or  twice  a  week,  not  only  is  it 
impossible  to  excite  any  thorough- going  interest  in  their 
minds,  but  their  influence  is  a  dead  weight  on  the  school. 
But  of  all  kind  of  parties,  dancing  parties  are  the  most 
fascinating,  and  the  pupils  that  attend  them  the  most 
uncontrollable.  Having  taught  a  graded  school  about  four 
months,  in  M.  I  found  that  nearly  all  the  older  pupils  in  the 
high  school  department,  young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  were 
attending  dancing  parties,  frequently.  After  having  requested 
them  several  times  to  abstain  from  the  practice  during  term 
time,  and  yet  finding  that  the  practice  continued,  and 
realizing  that  all  my  efforts  to  interest  and  benefit  them 
were  in  a  great  measure  neutralized,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  something  must  be  done.  I  could  not  longer  permit 
myself  to  be  a  party  to  their  self-abuse  and  waste  of 
opportunity,  nor  could  I  feel  it  right  to  throw  away  my  time 
and  reputation  in  such  a  fruitless  work.  The  young  people 
were  always  ready  to  admit  the  force  of  my  statements,  and 
saw  the  evil  of  their  course,  but  some  new  and  unforeseen 
circumstance  arose  time  after  time  to  seduce  them  from  their 
purpose;  and  so  the  frequency  of  the  parties  rather  increased 
than  diminished.  A  day  of  weariness,  listlessness  and 
inattention  having  passed,  in  consequence  of  the  young 
people  having  been  out  late  at  a  ball  the  night  previous,  the 
next  morning  but  one  after  the  ball,  finding  them  compara- 
tively rested  and  cheerful,  I  made  some  remarks  in  this  wise, 
at  General  Exercises: 

"  My  young  friends,  I  am  glad  to  find  you  so  well  recovered 
from  the  fatigue  and  excitement  of  the  ball.  It  is  now,  I 
think,  a  fit  time  to  state  my  determination  in  this  matter  of 


232  LECTU1IE   XVIII. 

balls  and  parties.  You  well  know  that  until  dancing  parties 
commenced,  I  enjoyed  my  position  and  labor  here,  that  I  was 
well  satisfied  with  your  progress  and  general  deportment. 
Even  now,  I  have  nothing  to  complain  of  in  the  want  of 
personal  respect,  or  in  your  willingness  to  comply  with  my 
wishes  in  all  other  respects  than  that  of  attending  dancing 
parties.  My  personal  feelings  are  as  kindly  towards  all  of 
you  this  morning  as  ever  before,  and  my  desire  for  your 
improvement  and  happiness  could  not  be  greater  than  it  is 
at  this  moment.  But,  under  the  circumstances,  I  feel 
compelled  to  resign  my  position,  and  yield  it  to  some  other 
person  better  calculated  to  win  your  respect  and  confidence, 
and  to  whose  wishes  you  will  be  more  willing  to  defer.  My 
only  ground  of  complaint  is  in  this  matter  of  dancing  parties. 
You  are  as  well  aware  as  myself  that  your  school  privileges 
are  almost  entirely  lost  in  consequence  of  attending  evening 
parties,  and  I  do  not  think  you  can  blame  me  when  I  say 
that  I  am  not  willing  longer  to  spend  my  time  and  efforts 
where  they  can  accomplish  so  little.  I  shall  therefore  feel 
it  necessary  to  ask  the  Directors  to  release  me  from  farther 
connection  with  the  school  after  this  week." 

I  sat  down.  One  of  the  older  pupils  arose  and  said  :  "  We 
are  sorry  we  attended  the  ball  against  your  wishes,  and  I  am 
willing  to  promise  that  1  will  not  attend  another  ball  this 
winter."  "  So  am  I,"  said  another,  and  so  said  several.  c-Well 
I  have  no  wish  to  leave  here.  I  came  at  some  sacrifice  and 
considerable  expense ;  I  have  enjoyed  my  work  exceedingly 
until  these  dancing  parties  commenced.  All  I  wish  is  to  see 
you  as  interested  in  your  school  as  you  were,  and  as  earnest 
for  your  own  improvement:"  Said  the  first  speaker,  James 
M. :  u  We  will  do  whatever  you  ask  of  us,  and  try  to  give  no 
more  trouble,  we  don't  want  you  to  leave  us." 

"Will  you  be  willing  to  sign  a  pledge  that  you  will  not 
attend  any  dancing  party  hereafter  during  term  time?" 
"Yes,  I  am  willing."  "Well,  let  me  see  how  many  are 
willing  to  sign  such  a  pledge."  All  hands  were  raised. 

"But  such  a  pledge  will  not  continue  in  force  very  long 
without  some  penalty  for  its  violation.  Some  peculiar  and 
unforeseen  temptations  will  arise  in  all  probability  when  it 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  233 

will  be  impossible,  or  next  to  impossible,  to  abide  by  the 
pledge,  and  it  will  thus  gradually  lose  its  force,  and  the  evil 
will  then  be  worse  than  now,  I  fear.  If  you  will  sign  such  a 
pledge  as  this,  which  I  shall  write  including  a  penalty,  all  of 
you,  I  shall  be  willing  to  serve  you  still,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
our  school  will  then  prove  as  interesting  and  attractive  as  it 
was  during  the  past  term." 

I  wrote  and  read  the  following  pledge :  "  I  hereby  agree 
not  to  attend  any  dancing  party  during  this  or  the  remaining 
terms  of  this  school  year  ;  and  in  case  I  do,  to  deprive  myself 
of  school  privileges  for  the  two  consecutive  school  days 
after  the  offense." 

Some  one  saying  that  he  thought  the  privation  of  one  day 
would  be  sufficient,  I  replied  that  the  pupil  virtually  lost 
one  da}  any  how.  He  was  so  tired,  jaded  and  cross,  that  it 
would  bt.  better  for  him  to  remain  at  home  and  sleep  all 
day,  and  that  would  hardly  be  any  penalty;  so  I  thought 
the  pledge  would  have  to  include  two  days  to  work  well. 
So  all  consented  and  signed  their  names  to  the  pledge. 

We  had  prosperous  times  again.  The  only  infraction  of 
of  the  pledge  that  occurred  was  by  a  young  man  who 
spending  a  Saturday  and  Sunday  with  some  friends  in  the 
country,  felt  compelled  to  dance  in  a  party  that  had  been 
gotten  up  especially  for  his  benefit,  without  his  knowledge. 
On  Monday,  at  roll-calling,  he  rose  and  stated  his  case,  and  left 
it  with  me  to  decide  whether  the  circumstances  did  not 
justify  his  violation  of  the  pledge.  My  sympathy  was 
aroused  for  the  young  man,  he  was  so  candid,  kind  and 
respectful,  and  the  circumstances  seemed  so  beyond  his 
control ;  but  taking  the  matter  into  careful  consideration  for 
an  hour  or  so,  I  then  decided  that  it  would  be  better  for  the 
school  that  the  law  should  take  its  course  rather  than  that 
we  should  begin  to  take  excuses.  I  admitted  that  I  thought 
it  very  severe  on  him,  but  assumed  that  he  would  be  willing 
to  make  the  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  school.  He  suffered 
the  penalty,  and  we  had  no  farther  difficulty  with  dancing 
or  evening  parties  of  any  kind;  in  fact, this  contest  with  old 
habits  and  usages,  this  triumph  of  law  and  order,  was 
necessary  to  the  highest  success  of  the  school.  It  gave  that 


234  LECTURE    XVIII. 

school  more  union  in  effort,  more  manliness  in  character, 
more  devotion  to  school  objects,  than  they  could  ever  have 
obtained  without  it.  Thus  this  greatest  of  all  evils,  which 
threatened  to  ruin  the  school,  was  converted  by  this  course 
of  management  into  the  highest  positive  advantage. 

One  morning,  months  after  the  pledge  had  been  signed, 
William  M.,  at  roll-calling,  answered  "six."  Now  "live" 
was  the  report  which  denoted  perfect  decorum  for  the  day 
previous. 

"Why  six,  William?" 

"Well,  sir;  I  was  out  to  cousin  G.'s  last  Friday  night, 
and  they  had  a  dance  there.  It  Avas  just  as  much  as  I  could 
do  not  to  cgo  in.'  But  I  went  off  to  bed  and  let  them  dance. 
Now,  if  these  scholars  in  town  with  no  such  temptation 
report  'five,'  I  think  I  ought  to  have  six." 

"Very  well,  William.  I  will  give  jou  six  this  time." 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT, 

LECTURE  XIX. 

ERRONEOUS  OBJECT  TEACHING. 

PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


1.  It  is  charged  that  I  am  opposed  to  object  teaching. 
No  charge  can  be  more  groundless.  I  am  opposed  to  the 
errors,  abuses  and  absurdities  of  olyject-lesson  teaching,  and 
I  propose  in  this  lecture  to  point  out  some  of  these  errors, 
abuses  and  absurdities,  together  with  some  others,  practiced 
in  other  lines  of  teaching. 

As  well  might  it  be  claimed  that  I  am  opposed  to  the 
conveniences,  comforts  and  embellishments  of  my  home, 
because  I  think  it  would  be  absurd  for  me  and  my 
children  to  confine  ourselves  in  a  warehouse  an  hour  or  more 
every  day  to  talk  about  cooking-stoves,  sideboards,  bureaus, 
pianos,  pictures  and  statuary.  I  prefer  to  enjoy  these  com- 
forts in  their  legitimate  uses  and  applications.  So  of  objects 
for  illustration. 

If  there  is  any  body  of  teachers  anywhere  that  makes 
use  of  a  greater  variety  of  these  objects,  material  and  imma- 
terial, real  and  invented,  and  in  a  greater  variety  of  appli- 
cations, than  the  corps  of  Normal  teachers  here  employed 
1  know  not  where  they  are  to  be  found.  I  would  travel  far 
to  shake  hands  with  them. 

2.  In  order  to  develop  more  vividly,  what  I  consider  the 
true  method  of  objective  teaching,  I  shall  be  compelled   to 

235 


236  OBJECT   LESSONS. 

dwell  somewhat  at  lengthen  the  errors  and  abuses  in  this 
direction,  now  so  prevalent  in  the  educational  world.  Some 
of  these  belong  more  particularly  to  the  object-lesson  sys- 
tems, and  are  somewhat  extensively  practiced  in  the  me- 
chanical routine  of  too  many  of  the  trained  (?)  object-lesson 
teachers  found  in  the  primary  and  secondary  departments  of 
several  of  the  city  public  school  systems. 

ERLIOR  I.     Book  Lessons;  no  Illustrations',   "Thoroughness" 

The  teacher  who  requires  memoriter  recitations,  and 
makes  use  of  threats  and  punishments  to  en  force*  his  requisi- 
tions, is  a  most  venerable  nuisance  ;  revolutions  come  and  go, 
in  church  and  state,  in  home  and  school;  but  this  oppres- 
sive dynasty  still  holds  its  sway  over  millions  of  innocents. 
If  any  extraneous  power  is  ever  adjured  to  consummate  and 
justify  this  tyranny,  it  is  that  of  the  relentless  exactions  for 
examinations,  under  that  baleful  watchword,  ''Thoroughness." 
Ihe  exact  letter  of  the  text,  in  Definitions,  Rules,  Special 
Rules,  Paradigms,  Remarks,  Observations,  Notes,  are  extorted 
by  imprisonment  and  ferule ;  and  this  is  thoroughness,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  force  teacher.  No  explanations,  no  ap- 
plications, no  illustrations,  nc  objects,  but  words,  fear  and 
force;  no  apparatus;  but  the  letter  of  the  text,  pure  and 
unmixed,  and  this  is  the  unvarying  mandate,  the  ever  present 
object,  enforced  with  conscientious  integrity  of  purpose  and 
rigorous  persistence  of  exaction. 

Am  I  not  safe  in  saying  that  at  least  seven-tenths  of  all 
children  and  youth  now  in  our  city  and  village  schools  are 
being  repressed,  disheartened,  demoralized,  demonized,  by 
just  such  an  infatuated  idea  of  thoroughness,  and  just  such 
a  terrible  mode  of  reaching  it  ? 

The  present  city  and  village  public  school  systems,  with 
here  and  there  a  marked  exception,  are  among  the  most 
viciously  effective  agencies  in  crushing  our  children  and 
youth  from  an  eager  love  of  knowledge,  and  from  a  hearty 
good  will  in  their  school  work,  into  a  positive  antagonism 
to  all  reasonable  requirements,  and  into  the  fixed  habit  of 


SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT.  237 

despising  and  avoiding  all  remunerative  labor.  This  com- 
bination of  tyranny  and  rote,  so  inseparable  in  nearly  all  our 
graded  schools,  is  the  secret,  if  there  is  any,  of  this  terrible 
efficiency. 

I  ought,  in  justice,  here  to  say  that  in  many  of  these 
tread-mill  systems  there  are  one  or  more  subordinate  teach- 
ern  who  infuse  their  own  life  and  inspiration  into  their  own 
pupils,  in  spite  of  the  reign  of  suspicion  and  tyranny  all 
around  them.  I  have  known  such  a  subordinate  to  modify 
if  not  purify,  every  department  in  the  building  in  which  she 
worked. 

Again,  I  have  known  one  of  these  "lesson  grinders" 
and  per  cent,  extortioners,  a  principal  teacher,  of  course,  to 
have  apparatus,  (a  pair  of  globes,  and  an  air  pump 
perhaps,)  standing  in  a  glass  case,  dusty  and  rusty,  ex- 
hibited, indeed,  to  visitors  "through  a  glass  darkly;"  but 
he  thought  it  took  too  much  time  from  the  daily  lessons, 
and  diverted  his  pupils'  attention  too  seriously  from  their 
regular  work,  to  use  this  apparatus,  if,  indeed,  he  had  any  idea1 
how  it  could  be  used. 

I  have  known  another  teacher  to  bring  out  the  apparatus 
for  show  in  an  evening  lecture,  hoping  to  win  eclat  in  this 
form  of  public  effort.  Singed  eyebrows,  burnt  extremities, 
stunning  explosions,  not  provided  for  in  the  programme,  were 
the  most  exciting  portions  of  the  evening's  performance. 
The  apparatus  was  laid  away,  charged  with  being  ill  con- 
structed, and  the  manufacturers  were  denounced  as  humbugs 
and  swindlers. 


ERUOR  II.     Book  Lessons,  with  Illustrations  and  no  Appli- 
cations. 

Another  class  of  errorists  are  those  who,  using  illustra- 
tions of  various  kinds,  fail  to  carry  the  minds  of  their  pupils 
beyond  the  experiment,  or  the  use  of  the  apparatus  itself. 
For  example,  in  illustrating  the  change  of  seasons  by  the  use 
of  a  tellurian,  or  globe,  such  a  teacher  fails  to  make  the  con- 


238 


OBJECT  LESSONS. 


neclion  with  nature,  and  to  carry  the  mind  of  the  pupil  to 
the  grand  machinery  of  the  solar  system.  Too  much  of  ob- 
jective teaching  is  of  this  character,  and,  falling  short  of  its 
true  aim,  is  often  almost  as  bad  as  lesson  grinding. 

ERROR  III.     The  Teacher   Using  Illustrations^  but  Failing 
to  Arouse  the  Power  of  Illustration  in  the  Pupil. 

College  professors  in  natural  sciences  belong  to  this 
class.  The  result  is  a  most  helpless  condition  of  mind  on  the 
part  of  the  pupils,  the  victims  of  these  lecture-spinners  and  ex- 
periment exhibitors.  This  error  can  be  corrected  only  by 
putting  the  apparatus  into  the  hands  of  the  pupils  and  per- 
mitting them  to  perform  the  experiments  and  to  give  the  nec- 
essary explanations  and  applications. 

ERROR  IV.     Dealing  in  Quidities. 

Now  and  then  I  have  seen  an  expert  in  scientific  manip- 
ulation who  took  special  pride  in  the  curiosities  of  science, 
using  up  the  time  of  his  pupils  in  illustrating  far-fetched 
anomalies,  curious  and  unexplained  phenomena,  dwelling 
always  with  special  unction  on  the  "last  achievement  of 
scientific  research,"  not  realizing  that  his  pupils  had  failed 
entirely  ol  the  veriest  outlines  of  the  science  under  consid- 
eration, and  were  profoundly  ignorant  of  its  fundamental 
and  well  established  principles. 

ERROR  V.     Olject-Lesson   Teaching. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  object-lesson  teaching  has  among 
its  advocates  and  practitioners  many  good  and  worthy  men 
and  women.  The  system  is  undergoing  constant  modifica- 
tions, and  has,  in  fact,  taken  to  itself  many  improvements 
since  its  introduction  into  this  country;  but  these  are  al- 
ways in  the  direction  of  the  Normal,  or  Direct  methods,  and 
at  the  expense  of  the  boasted  peculiarities  of  the  object-les- 
son methods.  By  these  modifications  at  the  hands  of  some 
of  the  leading  object-lesson  book-makers,  several  of  the  ab- 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  239 

surdities  which  I  shall  characterize  have  been  laid  aside,  and 
thus,  in  every  instance,  a  nearer  approach  has  been  made  to 
correct  practice  in  teaching,  and  the  object-lesson  teaching 
has  become  less  and  less  objecd-lessonative,  and  more  and 
more  objective.  I  may  also  add  that  I  consider  object-les- 
son teaching,  with  all  its  absurdities,  a  decided  improvement 
on  lesson  grinding,  or  "setting  on  the  bench  and  saying  A." 

ABSURDITY  I.  WTi-ile  Insisting  on  a  Certain  "  Natural 
Order  of  Development"  the  object-lesson  teacher  ignores 
the  natural  fact  that  the  faculties  can  not  be  detached  from 
each  other.  He  works  on  the  absurd  assumption  that  the 
mind  is  made  of  parts,  and  each  of  these  parts  can  be  sep- 
arately trained.  Now,  the  mind  is  a  unit;  the  different  fac- 
ulties are  only  different  modes  of  its  activity.  Nor  can  any 
faculty,  or  any  class  of  faculties,  be  well  trained,  or.  in  fact, 
trained  at  all,  without  the  corresponding  activity  and  train- 
ing of  other  faculties.  To  ignore  this  fact  is  as  absurd  as  for 
a  plow-boy  to  use  the  beam  of  his  plow  in  the  morning,  the 
share  at  noon  and  the  handles  in  the  evening;  or  more 
closely,  perhaps,  to  use  his  feet  in  the  spring,  his  body  in 
summer,  and  his  hands  in  autumn. 

Nor  is  the  intellect  the  whole  of  the  child.  The  train- 
ing of  the  will  to  determined  persistence  in  right  action,  the 
training  of  the  entire  individuality  to  halits  of  eager  indus- 
try and  cheerful  self-denial  for  the  attainment  of  noble  ends, 
are  of  infinitely  more  moment  in  any  period  of  education 
than  the  following  ot  any  "  natural  order  of  development"  that 
has  ever  yet  been  shown  to  exist. 

The  best  and  only  worthy  training  of  the  memory  is  by 
means  of  relations,  and  these  relations  the  mind  must  learn 
to  find  for  itself,  in  fixing  the  Tidbits  of  investigating,  sys- 
tematizing and  utilizing  all  proper  subjects  and  objects  of 
thought  or  study.  Now,  the  object-lesson  method  rejects  or 
subordinates  the  use  of  the  understanding  for  the  first  three 
or  five  years  of  the  child's  training,  and  thus  lepends  almost 
entirely  on  the  sensible  impressions  and  the  inadequate  and 
feeble  inductions  called  "points,"  as  brought  out  in  the  con- 


L'40 


OBJECT  LESSONS. 


cert  exercises  of  object-lesson  drill  for  training  the  memory 
(o  retain — what?  Principles?  No.  Principles  belong  to 
the  reasoning  faculties,  and  involve  relations ;  but  these  exer- 
cises train  the  memory  to  retain  a  knowledge  of  the  proper- 
ties of  natural  or  artificial  objects  and  the  technical  terms 
that  express  them.  Is  it  not  obvious  that  the  memory  is  not 
thus  trained  in  its  legitimate  hold  on  truth,  (namely,  through 
relations),  but  is  burdened  by  a  multiplicity  of  disconnected 
facts,  and  their  corresponding  technical  terms? 

ABSURDITY  II.  Rejecting  the  use  of  Books.  —  I  feel 
myself  safe  in  asserting  that  there  is  no  stage  in  the  school 
life  of  any  pupil  in  which  books  judiciously  used  may  not 
become  a  marked  and  effective  aid  even  in  the  unnatural 
operations  of  the  object-lesson  school  room,  or  yet  in  accom- 
plishing the  ends  which  the  object-lesson  teacher  professes  to 
have  in  view.  The  object-lesson  abuse  is  but  the  necessary 
and  natural  opposite  extreme  of  the  lesson-grinding,  and  per- 
cent, extorting  abuse,  so  generally  cursing  our  American 
school  system.  Men  of  small  calibre,  copyists  and  imitators 
are  prone  to  absurd  extremes  in  their  futile  application  of  val- 
uable principles  discovered  by  original  thinkers.  Such, 
undoubtedly,  are  many  of  the  present  advocates  and  practi- 
tioners of  object-lessons.  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  state  in 
this  connection  that  some  leading  object-lesson  men  are 
gradually  falling  back  from  this  absurd  extreme  of  "  no 
books  in  primary  teaching"  into  a  more  rational  use  of 
books  than  they  left;  while  most  of  those  primary  teachers  in 
our  graded  schools  who  were  compelled  to  adopt  the  object- 
lesson  methods  are  as  rapidly  as  they  dare  resuming  the 
other  extreme  and  grinding  more  fearfully  than  ever  in  Ihe 
prison  house  of  books,  and  per-cents. 

ABSURDITY  III.  Training  children  to  helpless  depend- 
ence, on  their  teachers. — Undoubtedly  any  true  or  valuable 
training  tends  towards  independent  and  self-propelling  activ- 
ity, and  the  development  of  true  individuality,  but  no  one  of 
any  discernment  can  witness  an  object  lesson  drill  without 
perceiving  that  with  the  majority  of  object-lesson  teachers 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 


241 


ail  individuality  is  lost  in  the  concert  dnJ  (the  almost  uni- 
versal concomitant  of  object-lessons) ;  the  teacher  and  one 
or  two  leading  pupils  doing  all  the  thinking,  while  the  others 
are  mere  echoes  in  their  parrot  like  repetition  of  the  words 
of  the  leaders.  This  special  form  of  mental  abuse,  how- 
ever, so  generally  practiced  by  the  first  object-lesson  teach- 
ers, is  more  recently  being  somewhat  corrected  in  more 
advanced  classes  by  assigning  writing  lessons  to  fix  the 
results  of  the  object-lesson  drill.  But  these  writing  lessons 
are  relatively  open  to  nearly  all  the  objections  which  lie 
against  the  object-lesson  system  as  a  whole. 

ABSUBDITY  IV.  Using  Technicalities  out  of  their  true 
Scientific  Relations. — The  object-lesson  system  claims,  as  its 
special  aim,  and  advantage  that  it  cultivates  the  perceptive 
faculties  in  the  child,  without  making  unreasonable  demands 
on  the  reflective  or  reasoning  faculties.  But  in  doing  this, 
beside  involving  itself  in  absurdity  1st,  it  also  necessarily 
brings  into  use  a  very  considerable  variety  and  extent  of 
scientific  technicalities.  To  have  any  just  understanding  of 
the  proper  use  and  application  of  these  technicalities,  the 
true  relations  of  the  properties  and  facts  which  they  legiti- 
mately express,  must  be  understood  ;  otherwise,  as  is  too  gen- 
erally the  case  with  object-lesson  pupils,  they  fall  into  very 
superficial  and  inadequate,  if  not  absurd  uses  of  these 
technicalities ;  and  what  is  worse,  fix  the  habit  of  loose  and 
incoherent  use  of  high  sounding  words.  With  the  more  sen- 
sitive class  of  childern,  the  ridicule  excited  by  the  misap- 
plication of  Borne  few  object-lesson  terms,  will  generally 
repress  too  severely  the  use  of  even  appropriate  language, 
and  drive  the  child  into  common-place  and  slang;  while 
with  those  less  sensitive,  the  habit  of  parrot-like  use  of  big 
words  and  small,  is  engendered.  This  habit,  in  some  cases, 
seems  to  be  ineradicably  fixed  for  life. 

ABSURDITY  V.  Ignoring  the  power  of  Systematic  Rela- 
tion and  Dependence  in  training  the  Memory. — The  only  plan 
of  mnemonics  worth  any  attention,  is  that  of  systematic  rela- 
tions and  dependence.  Nature,  at  once,  begins  to  train  the 
16 


OBJECT  LESSONS. 

memory  in  generalizing,  by  the  application  of  names  to  similar 
objects;  first,  material  objects  and  their  concepts  ;  then,  and 
almost  simultaneously,  to  abstract  objects  and  their  concepts. 
But  nature  teaches  by  the  use  and  application  of  these 
objects  to  the  common  wants  and  satisfactions  of  life,  and 
in  these  relations,  their  appropriate  terms  are  obtained  and 
treasured  in  the  memory.  Scientific  terms,  not  found  within 
the  ordinary  range  of  daily  wants  and  experience,  when  forced 
on  the  memory,  out  of  relations,  must  be  held,  if  at  all,  by  dint 
of  repetition.  But  by  any  correct  and  comprehensive  training 
in  any  science  as  such,  the  necessary  terms,  technical,  or 
otherwise,  are  received  with  avidity,  and  retained  perman- 
ently, without  effort,  as  inseparable  from  its  objects,  laws 
and  applications. 

To  illustrate.  How  long  will  it  take  an  ordinarly  intelli- 
gent class  of  children  to  learn  the  names  of  the  two  hundred 
and  forty  bones  in  the  human  system,  saying  nothing  of  their 
common  and  peculiar  properties,  provided  these  bones  are 
presented  in  any  detached  arrangement.  But  I  have  often 
seen  a  class  grasp  all  the  names  and  relations,  and  very  many 
of  the  properties,  uses  and  elements  of  the  entire  osseous 
system  in  two  or  three  lessons  ;  the  teacher  depending  on  the 
use  of  the  reflective  faculties  to  sharpen  the  activity  of  the 
perceptive  faculties,  in  ascertaining  and  fixing  in  memory 
the  names,  relations,  properties  and  uses  of  each  of  these 
two  hundred  and  forty  bones. 

I  repeat  it  then,  it  is  not  only  an  absurdity  but  a  gross 
abuse  of  the  memory,  the  understanding,  of  good  sense  espe- 
cially, to  force  a  mass  of  disconnected  and  incoherent  names 
and  facts  upon  the  minds  of  children. 

ABSURDITY  YI.  That  Children  can  learn  to  read  more 
readily,  intelligentlyfiy  the  Object- Lesson  method  than  ~by  any 
other. — While  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  object-lesson  meth- 
od, with  all  its  absurdities  and  abuses,  is,  in  most  cases,  an 
improvement  on  some  other  prevalent  methods,  yet,  so  far 
as  the  object-lessons  themselves  are  concerned,  theystand  in 
the  way  of  the  pupil's  progress  to  an  independent  use  of  big 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  243 

books,  m  the  practice  of  diligent  study,  and  in  acquiring  and 
fixing  the  Jialit  of  earnest  work  for  the  love  of  it. 

I  have  seen  pupils  of  less  than  six  years  of  age,  trained  in 
the  Normal  method,  with  phonetics,  who,  in  eleven  weeks, 
were  able  to  read,  write,  and  study  independently  ;  and  i.u 
comparing  this  progress  with  that  of  those  children  who  had 
been  trained  by  the  most  approved  object-lesson  teachers, 
for  more  than  a  school  year,  I  was  satisfied  in  every  case, 
that  from  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  labor,  time  and  ex- 
pense bestowed  by  the  object-lesson  teacher,  might  have 
been  saved;  while  the  habits  formed  in  the  first  case  were 
good,  and  in  the  latter,  for  the  most  part,  were  indifferent  or 
bad — i.  e.  I  discerned  in  the  children  trained  by  object-les 
sons,  no  positive  love  of  school,  or  power  of  independent 
study,  or  of  individual  effort  in  observation  and  investigation, 
or  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  systematic  arrangement  and 
procedure ;  or  any  perception  of  departure  from  it  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher. 

Now,  all  of  these  I  hold  as  objects  of  vital  moment  in 
the  primary  department,  as  well  as  in  every  other  depart- 
ment of  the  school  work. 

The  Normal  method,  aiming,  as  it  does,  at  these  halitj, 
will  surely  be  more  likely  to  reach  them  than  the  object- 
lesson  method,  which  ostensibly  aims  at  the  development  of 
only  the  perceptive  faculties,  and  the  power  of  expression, 
by  oral  drill,  with  drawing  and  writing  lessons,  as  an  essen- 
tial accompaniment. 

Besides,  if  in  graded  primary  schools,  there  is  time  enough 
in  the  six  school  hours  of  a  day,  for  a  teacher  to  give  a 
considerable  portion  of  it  to  the  exercises  called  object- 
lessons  ;  in  an  ungraded  school  of  a  country  district,  in  which, 
by  the  best  classification,  twenty  different  classes  at  least  must 
be  attended  to,  in  order  to  meet  the  wants  of  all  the  grades 
of  pupils  in  attendance,  where  is  the  propriety  of  wasting  the 
little  time  that  can  be  given  to  the  primary  class  in  such 
indirect  and  dilatory  processes  ? 

ABSURDITY  VII.    Assuming  that  any  object-lesson  book,  in 


244:  OBJECT   LESSORS. 

the  use  of  which  the  teacher  is  trained,  contains,  or  can 
contain  enough  of  all  the  physical  sciences  to  make  safe 
teachers  of  the  technicalities  ot  these  sciences  or  of  any  one 
of  these  sciences. 

There  are,  perhaps,  a  dozen  different  volumes  published, 
each  claiming  to  be  a  correct  and  sufficient  guide  for  object- 
lesson  teaching,  each  embracing  lessons  involving  nearly 
all  the  physical  sciences.  Yet  any  one  of  these  physical 
sciences,  if  but  very  meagerly  presented,  must  occupy  a 
volume,  quite  as  large  as  any  object-lesson  book  yet  pub- 
lished, the  greater  part  of  which  is  given  to  matter  entirely 
irrelevent  to  any  science  or  any  scientific  course  of  pro- 
cedure. To  carry  out  the  assumed  purpose  of  object- 
lesson  advocates,  and  object-lesson  book  compilers,  legiti- 
mately, would  then  require  the  thorough  training  of  the  ob 
ject-lesson  teacher  in  at  least  ten  different  physical  sciences 
but  much  more  in  psychology,  logic,  rhetoric  and  moral  phy- 
losophy.  But  a  person  thus  trained  would  never  practice 
the  absurdity  of  attempting  to  develop  one  class  of  facul- 
ties the  better  by  ignoring  or  subordinating  the  rest. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

I.  These  animadversions  are   directed   entirely  against 
the  abuses  and  perversions  of  object  teaching.     But  these 
abuses    and  perversions   are  practiced  by  so   many  of  the 
trained  object-lesson  teachers,  that  they  seem  to  be  inherent 
in  the  object-lesson  system.     Still  I  do  not  wish  to  deny  that 
a  large  minority  of  object-lesson  teachers  are  doing  a  good 
worK  in  the  primary  school-room,  as  compared  with  the  other 
force  work  almost  universal  in  city  schools. 

II,  I  have  sometimes  thought,  in  visiting  city  schools, 
and  in  hearing  the  Principals  boast  of  their  success  in  their 
exactions  ;  of  their  rigor  in  carrying  out  their  laws,  so  giind- 
ing  and  crushing  to  all  free  action    and  noble  aspiration   on 
the  part  of  the  pupils,  that  object-lessons  might  perform  the 
same  office  in  the  force  system  of  instruction  as  the  dancing 


SCHOOL,   MANAGEMENT.  240 

and  revelry  of  holidays  among  the  former  slaves  of  the 
Southern  plantations  ;  or  as  the  gladiatorial  shows  in  the  gov 
ernments  of  Nero  and  Caligula.  Object-lessons,  by  an  en- 
thusiastic teacher,  do  afford  some  considerable  mitigation  to 
the  reign  of  force,  and  the  exactions  of  tyranny,  and  seem  to 
make  the  rote-force  management  much  more  tolerable  to 
its  subjects;  are  indeed  a  kind  of  safety-valve,  the  more 
necessary  as  the  pressure  of  tyranny  is  the  more  severe. 

III.  There  is  no  des're  on  my  part  to  deny  the  validity 
of  the  principles   which    are    said   to  underlie  the  object- 
lesson  system  of  instrution  ;  but  it  is  the   ignoring  of  these 
very  principles  in  the  object-lesson  practice  that  I  complain 
of.    I  do  deny,however,that  all  knowledge  is  acquired  through 
our  external  senses.     This    fundamental  principle  of  the  ob- 
ject-lesson system,  is  Comptism,  and  belongs  to  the  sensational 
or  positive  school  of  infidel  thinkers.     On  the  other  hand,  I 
am    confident  that   much   the  greater  part  of  all  valuable 
knowledge,  even  in   childhood,  comes  through  other  chan- 
nels, and  the  sense  perception  affords  only  one  basis  of  intelli- 
gence,  the  other   being  the  internal  sense,  or  conciousness 
a  nd  the  intuitions.  But  all  of  these  are  mere  bases  which,  with 
01 1  communication  with  other  minds  in  conversation,  read- 
ing,  and  study  of  books,  would  yet  leave  their  possessor  a 
savage  or  an  idiot.     And  right  here  I  wish   to  reiterate   that 
knowledge  is  not  education,  through  what  ever  channels  it 
may  be  obtained.     Education  is  the  established  ivorking  of 
good  habits\  and  it  does  seem  to  me  that  the  object-lesson 
system    as    generally   practiced,   is  not  designed,  nor  is  it 
expected  by  its  advocates  to  establish  such  habits  as  a  love 
for  work,  a  love  for  investigation,  a  love  of  self-mastery,  a 
love  of  thoroughness,  a  love  of  noble  arid  benevolent  activity. 

IV.  The  question  arises,  if  there  are  so  many  objec- 
tions   lying    against    object-lesson    teaching,   why    has    it- 
been  received  with  so  much  favor  in  many  of  our  city  school 
systems  ? 

I  have  virtually  answered  this  before,  but  will  again  give 
my  solution  of  the  problem. 


246 


OBJECT   LESSONS. 


I  have  observed  that  the  more  grinding  tne  despotism  in 
any  system  of  schools  the  more  ready  was  the  Superinten- 
dent to  accept  the  object-lesson  palliation. 

Again  I  have  noticed,  and  in  fact  it  has  been  confessed 
by  some  politic  Superintendents  that  the  object-lesson  sensa- 
tion, in  its  ad  captandum  features,  enables  Superintendents 
to  introduce  other  modifications  which  are  really  needed  and 
which  could  not  be  obtained  from  their  Boards  of  Education 
by  any  other  means,  as  soon,  if  at  all;  and  it  must  be  admit- 
ted by  those  who  have  watched  the  movements  of  affairs,  that 
Superintendents  are  not  unwilling  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
exciting  exhibitions  of  infantile  wordiness  to  enhance  the 
value  of  their  own  services,  even  though  their  better  judg- 
ment may  condemn  many  features  in  the  workings  of  the 
object-lesson  system  of  primary  instruction. 

V.  If  the  object-lesson  exercises  are  recognized  then 
as  an  amusement,  necessary  to  while  away  the  time  and 
relieve  the  evils  of  six  hours'  daily  confinement  of  the  chil- 
dren   in    the  primary     departments     of     graded     schools, 
perhaps     their     true      place     is      found.     Or       if     it     be 
asserted     that     they    are     a  kind     of     compensation     in 
the  force  system   for  the  iniquitous    stripes    and    imprison- 
ments inseparable  from  a   government  of  force    and  tear,  I 
am  willing  to  grant  the  fairness  of  the  statement. 

VI.  So  far,  then,  as  object-lesson  teaching  is  introduc- 
ing true  objects  or  ends  into  the  school  work ;  so  far  as  it  is 
calculated  to  relieve  the  children  of  the  spirit  of  tyrannical 
rule,  and  the  grinding  of  intolerable  rote;  so  far, I  am  in  favor 
of  object-lesson  teaching.     I  have  no  doubt  but  that  there 
are  trained  object-lesson  teachers  who  work  with  sufficient 
enthusiasm  to  make  their  departments  attractive,  and  they 
do  some   thing  to  counteract  the  baleful  influence  of  theii 
respective  school  systems  which  drives  so  many  of  the  chil- 
dren from  their  only  school  privileges  into  the  marble-gam- 
bling crowds  of  young  ruffians  that  infest  nearly  all  our  towns 
and  villages. 

Now,  I  know,  and  have  seen  it  accomplished,  that  the 


SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT.  247 

change  of  objects,  from  "  thoroughness,"  to  good  habits;  the 
change  of  spirit,  from  that  of  oppressive  control  by  means  of 
stripes  and  imprisonment,  to  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and 
encouragement;  a  change  of  school  work  from  that  of  mem- 
orizing book  formularies,  to  that  of  studying  subjects,  and  with 
the  aid  of  suitable  illustrations  or  "objects,"  will  revolution- 
ize, not  the  school  only,  but  the  moral  aspect  of  the  town. 

Why,  think  oi  it  once  ;  on  the  one  hand  children  are  com- 
pelled to  attend  school,  and  avail  themselves  of  every 
opportunity  to  escape  school  drudgery;  they  rejoice  in  holi- 
days, and  brag  of  any  success  in  eluding  or  evading  the  scru- 
tiny and  exactions  of  their  teachers;  exult  especially  in 
"playing  hookey,"  and  not  getting  caught  in  it.  Is  it  any  won- 
der with  such  a  condition  of  things  that  from  one-third  to  one- 
half  the  enumerated  children  are  not  regularly  in  school 
with  such  worthless  parents  as  many  have  ?  On  the  other 
hand  if  the  school  is  managed  on  Normal  principles  and  by 
Normal  practices  the  children  will  have  to  be  compelled  to 
stay  away  from  school,  and  every  school  day  is  better  than  a 
holiday.  They  brag,  if  at  all,  on  the  superiority  of  their  own 
teachers,  and  discover  that  there  is  a  thousand  times  more 
fun  in  right  than  in  wrong.  Will  not  such  a  change  work  a 
revolution  in  a  school ;  in  a  community  ?  Nay,  will  it  not 
almost  of  necessity  build  up  each  pupil  in  a  new  and  true 
life?  instead  of  driving  him  into  a  continued  practice  of  deceit 
and  evasion ;  of  shirking  and  shamming,  of  hating  every  thing 
that  is  good  and  loving  every  thing  that  is  evil? 

VIII.  In  my  next  lecture  I  shall  endeavor  to  present 
very  briefly — what  I  consider  TRUE  OBJECT  TEACHING.  1st. 
The  True  Objects  and  Ends.  2d.  The  True  Spirit  in  working 
for  those  Objects.  3d.  The  True  Processes  in  carrying  out 
that  Spirit.  4th.  The  True  Forms  of  Objective  Illustrations  in 
conducting  those  Processes.  5th.  The  True  Methods  of 
using  those  Forms  of  illustrations  to  reach  the  true  Ends  in 
view. 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


LECTURE   XX. 


TRUE    OBJECT-TEACHING. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

Having  in  my  last  lecture  considered  some  of  the  prevalent 
errors  practiced  in  schools  and  colleges,  with  reference  to  the 
use  of  objects  and  methods  of  illustration,  I  shall  now  as  briefly 
as  possible  present  some  of  the  points  in  what  I  consider  the 
true  use  of  objects,  both  as  ends  and  means — in  other  words, 
I  shall  try  to  present  what  I  understand  to  be  the  true  system 
of  object-teaching. 

As   I   Conceive  the  Normal   Method   of  instruction   to   be 
broader  in  its  scope  and  more  far-reaching  in  its  outlook  than 
any  of  the  methods  which  I  have  characterized  as  erroneous, 
or  than  any  method  which  tolerates  such  abuses  and  absurdi- 
ties, I  shall  feel  compelled  to  present  a  condensed  synopsis  of  the 
fneral  scheme  of  Normal  Instruction,  as  given   in   Lectures 
,  XI,  and  XII,  but  in  the  reverse  order.     In   giving  this 
general  view,  I  shall  take  occasion  to  show,  as  I  proceed,  some 
of  the  points  of  difference  existing   between   the  Normal   or 
Direct  Methods,  and  Object-Lesson  Methods  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  Rote  or  College  Methods  on  the  other. 
248 


TRUE    OBJECT    TEACHING,  249 


THE  TRUE  OBJECTS  IN  ANY  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. _ 

In  Lecture  XII  these  were  given  in  the  natural  order,  thus: 
Immediate,  Mediate,  Ultimate.  I  shall  here  reverse  the  order, 
and  first  consider  the  Ultimate  objects  or  ends  which  should 
be  aimed  at  by  every  teacher  and  every  pupil  in  every  depart- 
ment of  education,  primary  or  advanced,  theoretical  or  prac- 
tical, in  school-room  or  work-shop.  Nay,  these  are  the  true 
ends  of  life ;  and  any  education,  or  department  of  education, 
which  does  not  harmonize  with  them,  is  abnormal  and  vicious. 


ULTIMATE  OBJECTS  OF  TRUE  OBJECT-TEACHING. 

(1.)  The  nighest  of  these  is  to  glorify  God  and  win  his 
approbation.  Any  line  of  instruction  or  any  process  of  school 
drill  which  leaves  this  object  out,  or  holds  it  in  the  remote 
future,  or  commits  it  to  other  spiritual  guides,  is  so  far  abortive, 
and  must  in  a  measure  defeat  the  first  and  highest  of  all  objects 
in  true  object-teaching.  I  abhor  sectarianism,  but  the  teacher 
who  is  not  all  aglow  with  the  love  of  the  Father,  who  is  not 
working  in  the  communicated  energy  of  His  Son,  falls  far 
short  of  his  own  true  inspiration ;  and  how  can  he  hope  to  in- 
spire his  pupils  with  that  which  he  does  not  possess? 

(2.)  The  next  true  ultimate  object  in  the  school  work,  in 
the  descending  order,  is  to  bless  mankind,  and  win  the  appro- 
bation of  good  men.  It  may  be  said,  and  is,  that  the  school 
work  is  but  preparatory ;  it  should  look  to  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge,  for  future  use,  and  the  teacher  should  be  fully  ab- 
sorbed in  his  present  aim.  To  this  I  reply,  that  by  so  limiting 
himself  in  his  views  he  cripples  himself,  and  paralyzes  the 
nobler  energies  of  his  pupils,  and  thus  in  a  great  measure 
defeats  the  attainment  of  even  his  own  meager  end.  By  the 
way,  I  consider  that  end,  or  object,  relatively  absurd  and  prac- 
tically abortive,  as  I  do  many  other  of  the  aims  and  processes 
of  the  rote  or  college  system  of  instruction,  whether  practiced 
in  school  or  in  college.  Again,  it  may  be  said,  and  is,  that  the 
training  of  the  senses  and  development  of  the  mental  faculties 
should  be  the  chief  or  onlj  object  of  the  school  work;  and 
these,  together  with  the  cultivation  of  the  power  of  expression, 
should  command  the  exclusive  attention  and  interest  of  the 
object-lesson  teacher,  at  least  for  the  first  two  or  three  years 
of  primary  instruction.  Such  short-sighted  views,  however, 
object-lesson  teachers  themselves  will  deny  when  alleged  against 
their  system;  however  much  they  may  urge  them  in  their  books 


250  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

and  training  lectures.  Now,  I  claim,  and  I  have  no  fear  that  any 
one  will  dispute  it,  that  these  true  and  highest  objects  will,  far 
more  than  any  other,  energize  and  sanctify  the  labor  of  every 
teacher  for  every  pupil,  and  more  effectually  aid  him  in  reach- 
ing any  of  the  lower  objects  or  ends  desirable  in  any  course  or 
department  of  instruction.  Not  only  so,  but  the  love  of  God 
and  the  love  of  man,  or  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  may,  and 
do  in  many  cases,  neutralize  in  some  measure  the  abnormal 
practices  and  vicious  tendencies  of  the  present  rote-foice  system 
in  many  school-rooms,  giving  a  gleam  of  spiritual  light  and 
warmth,  all  the  more  cheery  in  the  surrounding  moral  dark- 
ness and  winter  of  death,  too  generally  pervading  the  rote-force 
systems  of  school  discipline  and  instruction. 

(3.)  The  remaining  ultimate  objects,  or  ends,  in  the  school 
work,  still  following  the  descending  scale,  are  position  in  society 
and  success  in  business.  I  call  all  these  objects  ultimate,  be- 
cause they  are  ends  which  give  fruition  in  themselves,  and  do 
not  look  to  others  for  this  end,  viz.,  happiness  or  personal 
enjoyment.  Now,  my  complaint  still  is,  that  even  these  lower 
ultimate  objects  are  too  generally  left  out  of  sight,  both  in  the 
object-lesson  drills  and  in  the  rote-force  methods  of  school  and 
college  management,  including  both  instruction  and  govern- 
ment. The  application  of  force  in  the  absurd  attempt  to 
compel  children  and  youth  to  study  and  be  virtuous,  necessi- 
tates the  use  of  improper  objects,  as  the  avoiding  of  disgrace 
and  bodily  pain,  the  attainment  of  school  or  college  honors  or 
prizes.  As  every  clear  and  candid  observer  must  admit,  these 
vicious  objects  poison  the  entire  moral  atmosphere,  and  vitiate, 
more  or  less,  all  the  spiritual  energies  of  both  teachers  and 
pupils,  in  whatever  school  or  college  the  rote-force  is  in 
operation. 

But  the  Normal  Methods,  using  these  legitimate  objects  or 
ends,  and  rejecting  rote  and  rant,  suspicion  and  force,  rely  on 
the  natural  constitution  of  "human  nature"  in  children  and 
youth,  as  being  able  to  be  incited  in  the  spirit  of  Liberty  and 
trust  for  the  attainment  of  these  ever-present  ultimate  ends  by 
the  use  of  the  appropriate  Normal  processes  in  each  of  the 
consecutive  stages  of  the  school  work. 

TRUE  MEDIATE  OBJECTS. 

These  I  have  given  somewhat  at  length  in  Lectures  X  and 
XL     They  are  the  Habits,  ESTABLISHED  HABITS,  controlling 
'and  energizing  all  mental,  moral,  social,  and  religious  activity, 
vitalizing  these  higher  objects,  and  making  them  the  very  sub- 
stance and  essence  of  the  entire  life.     But  these  habits,  to  be 


TKUE   OBJECT   TEACHING.  251 

worked  for  and  established,  if  possible,  in  the  very  nature  of 
every  pupil,  are  the  love  of  work,  as  if  by  a  matchless  inspira.-  _ 
tion  ;  the  love  of  mastery,  or  thoroughness,  as  if  by  a  dauntless 
enthusiasm  ;  the  love  of  order  and  system,  as  if  by  the  spirit  of 
beauty  ;  the  love  of  utilization,  as  if  by  the  power  of  a  benevo- 
lent and  loving  heart.  What  less  dare  I  aim  at  in  my  efforts  to 
prepare  you  for  your  work  ?  What  less  can  you  strive  for,  my 
friends,  in  calling  forth  the  soul  energies  of  your  pupils,  and  in 
triving  them  direction  for  life;  nay,  for  eternity? 

These  habits  well  established,  I  affirm,  are  an  education  ; 
and  without  them  there  is  no  education,  though  there  may  be, 
and  too  often  is,  in  place  of  them,  effectual  training  in  these 
vicious  habits,  viz.,  repugnance  to  all  continuous  labor,  per- 
functory accomplishment  of  every  school  task  and  life  duty,  a 
dilettante  cultivation  for  general  uselessness,  often  called  culture, 
and  yet  all  this  under  the  popular  idea  that  these  habits  are 
compatible  with,  if  not  the  most  distinguishing  characteristic? 
of,  a  polished  gentleman  or  of  an  accomplished  lady. 


TRUE  IMMEDIATE  OBJECTS  on  ENDS  IN  THE  SCHOOL  WORK. 

(1.)  These  are  not  what  the  rote-force  system  assumes — 
(a)  "  perfect  memoriter  lessons  for  high  per  cents." ;  nor  arc 
they  what  the  object-lesson  system  assumes — (b)  "  the  develop- 
ment of  the  perceptive  faculties  and  of  the  power  of  expression." 
Such  immediate  objects  or  ends  are  comparatively  futile  and  in- 
effectual in  establishing  the  habits  before  mentioned.  The  rote- 
force  object  necessitates  processes  and  methods  which  establish 
habits  of  laziness  and  deceit.  The  object-lesson  objects  are 
reached  with  vastly  more  directness  and  certainty  by  the  true 
immediate  objects  of  Normal  management,  wrhile  the  vicious 
habits  of  depending  on  the  teacher  for  excitement,  and  of  the 
pirrot-like  use  of  language,  are  avoided. 

(2.)  These  true  immediate  objects  of  class  management  I 
have  already  given  in  Lecture  XII.  I  will  only  recapitulate 
them  here: 

(a)  Earnest  and  interested  attention  and  independent  ac- 
tivity of  every  pupil  in  every  class,  during  every  moment  of  a 
recitation  or  drill. 

(6)  Enthusiastic  and  spontaneous  study  in  preparation  foi 
every  recitation. 

(c)  Self-reliance   in    continued   and   coherent    speech ;    and 
this  may  be,  normally,  worked  for  in  primary  and  secondary 
departments,  as  I  have  shown  in  Lecture  XII. 

(d)  Quickness  of  apprehension  and  grasp  of  memory.    These, 


252  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT!. 

as  I  understand  tlum,  are  virtually  identical,  as  objects  in  class 
management. 

(e)  Power  of  independent  investigation  and  self-propelling 
analysis  in  the  thorough  mastery  of  every  subject  assigned  for 
8iudy. 

(/)  Entire  familiarity  with  the  principles  and  processes  of 
the  particular  branch  under  consideration,  and  ready  and  con- 
stant application  of  these  principles  to  the  affairs  of  life,  or  to 
the  explanation  of  natural  phenomena. 

(g)  Orderly  self-control,  with  a  manly  or  ladylike  bearing 
toward  the  teacher  and  fellow-pupils. 

These,  in  my  estimation,  are  the  true  objects  (immediate, 
mediate,  and  ultimate),  ever  present  and  ever  operative,  in  the 
daily,  hourly  work  of  every  true  object-teacher.  Not  one  of 
them  can  for  a  moment  be  lost  sight  of  in  true  object-teaching. 
They  most  effectually  preclude  all  the  rote  force  methods,  while 
they  include  all  that  is  valuable  in  the  object-lesson  methods, 
vitalizing  and  intensifying  them. 

It  may  be  objected,  that  children  in  the  primary  stage  can 
not  study  lessons,  hence  some  of  these  objects  would  be  out  of 
place  with  a  primary  teacher.  To  this  I  reply,  (1.)  that  in  the 
proper  management  of  primary  pupils,  a  brief  time  in  school 
each  day  is  required;  (2.)  that  appropriate  exercises  on  slates 
and  with  blocks,  or  with  such  natural  objects  as  minerals  and 
plants,  can  be  furnished,  in  connection  with  the  phonetic  drill, 
as  to  occupy  their  attention,  and,  as  far  as  desirable,  accomplish 
all  the  objects  proposed;  (3.)  that  children  will  learn  to  read 
and  study  in  from  three  to  six  weeks,  when  properly  trained  by 
a  true  object-teacher  ;  so  that  study,  good,  earnest,  independent 
study,  may  enter  even  a  primary  department,  and  hold  and  in- 
terest the  children  just  so  far  as  is  desirable  for  them. 

THE  TRUE  SPIRIT  OF  TRUE  OBJECT-TEACHING. 

H  )  The  system  of  Pestalozzi  is  often  assumed  as  the  basis 
of  all  modern  improvements  in  teaching.  Now,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Pestalozzi  was  a  success,  in  his  way,  and  that  he 
possessed  much  of  the  true  spirit  of  true  object-teaching;  but 
I  apprehend  that  if  he  should  witness  much  that  assumes  to 
bear  his  name  in  the  training  schools  of  America,  and  much 
more  in  the  schools  of  the  trained,  he  would  hardly  know  why 
his  name  were  assumed,  unless  to  cover  practices  which  he 
worked  all  his  life  to  eradicate.  These  are,  mechanical  routine, 
coercive  government,  suspicion,  censoriousness*,  and  compulsory 
study.  These  elements  are  no  part -of  Pestalozzianism,  as  I 
understand  it ;  and  yet,  so  far  as  I  know,  they  are  some  or  all 


THUE    OBJECT   TEACPIINGK 

of  them  retained  in  all  object-lesson  schools,  inasmuch  as  object- 
lesson  teaching  has  scarcely  been  introduced  elsewhere  than 
into  the  treadmill  systems  of  education  existing  in  our  larger 
villages  or  cities  ;  and  in  every  case,  so  far  as  I  know,  it  is 
used  to  mitigate  but  not  to  eradicate  the  rote-force  evils  of 
these  schools. 

1  would  look  higher  than  Pestalozzi,  even  to  the  Great 
Teacher,  for  my  inspiration ;  and  partaking  of  His  Spirit,  I 
would  before,  beyond,  and  above  all  forms  and  methods,  work 
in  the  spirit  of  love,  and  hopefulness,  and  trust. 

(2.)  It  is  not  unfrequently  the  case,  however,  that  the  spirit 
of  some  teacher  engaged  in  the  rote-force  work  of  a  system  of 
schools,  or  working  in  an  isolated  position,  is  vastly  superior 
to  his  own  or  her  own  theory ;  and  while  he  or  she  may  main- 
tain the  frame-work  of  compulsory  labor  and  the  machinery  of 
coercive  rules,  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  gentleness  that  per- 
vades the  school-room  renders  this  frame-work  and  machinery 
almost  entirely  inoperative,  and  thus,  of  course,  they  do  little 
harm.  I  have  even  found  teachers  of  this  character  contending 
for  the  force  system  of  government,  and  appealing  to  Solomon 
for  wisdom.  Why,  I  should  as  soon  think  of  asking  Solomon 
for  instruction  on  matrimonial  affairs  as  in  school  teaching — at 
least,  unless  he  has  been  very  badly  misunderstood.  Teachers, 
you  may  always  feel  in  your  school-room,  "  A  greater  than  Sol- 
omon is  here."  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,"  and 
"  Put  up  the  sword,"  are  to  me  mandates  of  higher  authority 
than  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child." 

(3.)  While  the  spirit  of  Pestalozzi  or  of  Jesus  does  not 
necessarily  dwell  in  any  objective  or  subjective  forms  or  methods, 
T  do  feel  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  of  you  to  gain  any 
clear  conception  of  these  true  objects  as  I  have  tried  to  present 
them,  and  not  imbibe  somewhat  of  the  spirit  necessary  to  teach 
them;  at  least,  you  can  not  fail  of  a  better  spirit,  a  higher  tone, 
and  a  more  vigorous  effort,  in  the  prosecution  of  your  daily 
work. 

(4.)  But  what  is  this  true  spirit  of  the  teacher's  work?  I 
answer,  first  and  always, 

1.  The  spirit  of  liberty.  Force  in  the  direction  of  right  is 
oppression,  is  absurd,  is  abominable.  It  makes  right  hateful; 
beauty,  hideous ;  and  truth,  a  lie.  If  coercion  must  be  used, 
let  it  be  applied  only  to  prevent  wrong,  never  to  compel  right 
action  or  right  feeling.  But  the  true  teacher  will  sooner  or 
later  grow  out  of  even  the  necessity  of  using  force  to  prevent 
wrong  action ;  for  this  necessity  is  manifestly  only  his  want  of 
power.  This  lack  of  moral,  personal  power  has  to  be  made  up 
by  the  use  of  physical  force;  and  tho  true  teacher  will,  by  ex- 


254  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

perience  and  daily  improvement  on  himself,  obtain  this  power, 
Again,  is  it  not  perfectly  obvious  that  right  can  not  be  com- 
pelled ?  Moral  rectitude  belongs  only  to  free  agents.  How, 
then,  can  there  be  any  morally  right  action  or  right  feeling  as 
the  result  of  coercion  ?  If  any  of  you  hear  the  wisdom  of  Sol- 
omon in  answer,  listen  only  to  the  higher  wisdom,  not  of  Pesta« 
lozzi,  but  of  Jesus. 

2.  The  true  spirit  is  a  spirit  of  ENTHUSIASM,  that  can  no  more 
be  restrained  by  any  particular  forms  or  methods  than  can  ar 
eager  traveler  by  the  laziness  or  fatigue  of  his  horse.     If  one 
horse  does  n't  suit,  he  takes  another  ;  if  none  can,  he  seizes  the 
mane  of  steam,  or  rushes  forward  on  foot.     This  spirit  of  en- 
thusiasm is  contagious  in  the  school-room.     This  was  the  secret 
of  Pestalozzi's  power  and  success,  in  spite  of  his  many  errors 
and  much  short-sightedness.    This  spirit  abominates  rote,  super- 
sedes coercion,  wins  respect,  if  not  admiration,  reaches  its  objects 
by  dint  of  its  own  essential  vim.     Impossibilities? — it  knows 
none  ;  none  which  it  does  not  convert  into  higher  possibilities, 
nobler  achievements,  and  sweeter  conquests — victories  of  love, 
how  sweet,  how  uplifting  ! 

3.  This  true  spirit  is  the  spirit  of  CHARITY,  of  SYMPATHY;  it 
believes  against  belief,  it  hopes  against  hope,  it  loves  the  mean- 
ness all  out  of  a  boy.     Woman,  thy  sphere  is  here,  where  man 
fails.     Where  man  is  compelled  to  fall  back  on  his  muscle  and 
apply  the  rod  to  crush  rebellion  or  insolence,  thy  tender  spirit 
has  disarmed  or  converted   it.     A  perfect  teacher  demanded? 
No.    The  more  imperfect,  the  more  filled  with  the  consciousness 
of  infirmities,  the  more  effectively  will  this  spirit  work,  and  the 
more  speedy  and  certain  its  victories. 

Teachers,  let  us  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus ;  he  is  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  else  he  is  not  our  Savior  or  De- 
liverer. 

REMARK. — T  have  been  led  to  compare  the  enthusiastic  spirit  of  pupil 
iteachers  in  training  here,  with  that  exhibited  in  training  schools  elsewhere. 
The  almost  universal  promptitude,  regularity,  and  energy  of  every  pupil 
.teacher  in  attendance  here,  where  the  spirit  of  freedom  reigns,  is,  I  appre- 
Ihend,  quite  in  contrast,  if  reports  are  at  all  reliable,  with  the  spirit  of  per- 
functory compliance  with  rules,  and  frequent  evasions  of  school  duties,  in 
(hose  training  schools  where  rules  are  held  to  be  necessary,  and  "sub- 
•mission  to  authority  is  considered  essential  in  the  training  of  teachers." 
While  pupils  here,  of  their  own  spontaneity,  not  unfrequently  establish  ad- 
ditional class  recitations  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  am  told  that  at 
the  animal  training  exercises  in  the  Cincinnati  schools,  conducted  mostly 
by  object-lesson  advocates  and  practitioners,  it  is  necessary  to  call  the  roll 
in  the  respective  training  rooms  four  times  daily,  in  order  to  secure  the 
continuous  attendance  of  the  pupil  teachers.  And  even  this  is  found  in- 
operative without  cutting  down,  for  absence,  the  wages  paid  to  these  same 
pupil  teachers  for  attending  these  training  exercises  in  the  annual  City 
Normal  Institute. 


TEUE   OBJECT   TEACHING.  25' 


TRUE  FORMS  OF  ILLUSTRATION. 

i.  RHETORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Instead  of  the  rhetorical 
forms,  the  object-lesson  teacher  would  place  real  objects  first  in 
the  list.  In  teaching  addition,  he  would  use  such  articles  as 
prsn-holders,  pencils,  or,  perhaps,  the  balls  on  a  numeral  frame, 
it  is  my  opinion  that  the  child  is  trained  into  ideas  of  number, 
or,  rather,  acquires  the  power  to  grasp  and  combine  numbers, 
much  more  rapidly  and  surely  without  these  objects  before  his 
eyes,  and  that  the  use  of  them  retards  his  development  in  the 
clear  conception  of  numbers,  and  the  power  of  combining  them 
and  computing  with  them.  It  is  better,  then,  to  concrete  the 
ideas  of  number  by  using  rhetorical  illustrations,  and  arousing 
the  imagination  of  the  children  by  using  the  ideas  of  these 
objects,  and  multitudes  of  others  which  can  not  be  brought  into 
the  school-room,  rather  than  the  objects  themselves ;  and  yet, 
when  such  objects  are  seen  to  be  necessary  or  desirable,  I  would 
not  fail  to  use  them.  Right  here,  the  assumed  end,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  perceptive  faculties,  stands  plainly  in  the  way  of 
the  true  end,  that  of  securing  earnest  and  interested  study  during 
the  study  hour. 

I  would,  then,  make  use  of  rhetorical  illustrations,  chiefly, 
ir  teaching  primary  arithmetic,  instead  of  any  kind  of  real 
objects  whatever.  The  idea  of  number  can  thus  be  concreted 
more  rapidly  and  certainly  with  any  primary  class ;  and  ideas 
of  abstract  numbers,  and  their  abstract  relations,  can  be  con- 
veyed to  the  minds  of  children  with  much  more  facility  and 
interest  by  means  of  rhetorical  or  invented  illustrations,  than 
by  counting  beans  or  shoving  red  and  black  balls  on  an  arith- 
mometer. 

It  is  a  sad  mistake  to  assume  that  no  correct  primary  teach- 
ing can  be  done  in  number  without  real  objects;  and  again, 
that  these  can  be  entirely  laid  aside  in  higher  classes.  The 
truth  is,  the  more  advanced  classes  need  the  objective  illustra- 
tions the  most;  and  the  farther  those  classes  advance,  the  more 
m^essnry  do  real  objects  become,  especially  in  the  combination 
of  form  with  number,  as  in  squares  and  cubes,  with  their  roots, 
or  in  the  more  obscure  relations  necessary  to  be  understood  in 
demonstrating  the  computation  of  the  contents  of  curved  sur- 
faces and  curved  solids. 

To  illustrate  rhetorical  illustration  by  a  rhetorical  illustra- 
tion, I  will  assume  that  I  am  combating  the  definition  given 
in  many  of  our  grammars,  that  "Case  is  the  condition  of  a  noun 
or  pronoun."  I  would  state  to  my  class  that  "  Case  is  the  ex- 
ternal form  which  the  noun  or  pronoun  assumes  to  indicate  its 


256  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

re.ation  to  the  verb  or  other  words  in  a  sentence,  and  thus  tc 
give  a  clear  idea  of  the  use  it  is  intended  to  accomplish  in  the 
expression  of  a  thought. 

"So  the  case  on  a  bag  of  feathers,  giving  it  a  certain  form 
and  appearance,  will  indicate  Avhether  it  is  to  be  used  as  a 
cushion  or  a  pillow.  The  case  is  virtually  its  external  form. 
So  the  cases  on  meat  may  indicate  the  kind  or  condition  of  the 
meat,  whether  ham  or  sausage.  But  the  external  form  is  not 
the  condition,  or  the  quality,  or  the  use ;  it  is  the  result  of  that 
condition,  quality,  or  use  intended,  and  thus  can  be  safely  taken 
to  indicate  it. 

"Just  so  with  the  forms  of  nouns,  but  more  distinctively 
with  those  of  pronouns  ;  they  assume  one  form  when  used  as  the 
subjects  of  a  verb,  and  another  when  used  as  the  objects  of  a 
verb  or  of  a  preposition.  For  example,  He  helps  me,  I  will 
reward  him.  I  and  he  are  used  as  subjects,  but  me  and  him  are 
used  as  objects. " 

2.  SCIENTIFIC  ILLUSTRATIONS.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
detain  you  with  any  continued  remarks  on  scientific  illustra- 
tions. These  are  for  the  most  part  objective,  that  is,  the  real 
objects  are  presented  and  used  by  the  pupils.  These  consist 
of  the  apparatus  and  materials  appropriate  for  every  science. 
Geography  demands  its  globes,  maps,  and  charts;  but  the  true 
object-teacher  will  make  more  frequent  use  of  such  real  objects 
as  his  own  town,  township,  and  county,  with  whatever  phys- 
ical features  they  present,  as  rivers,  lakes,  plains,  hills,  etc.; 
and  by  means  of  these  object  illustrations  he  will  convey  clear 
and  correct  conceptions  of  physical  geography  to  his  pupils. 

In  chemistry,  the  true  object-teacher  will  not  only  make 
use  of  the  appropriate  apparatus  and  materials,  but  he  will 
incite  his  pupils  to  make  apparatus  for  themselves;  as  you 
know  it  is  the  constant  practice  in  our  classes  here  for  the 
pupils  to  construct  a  considerable  part  of  their  apparatus  for 
themselves,  from  such  common  utensils  and  articles  as  can  be 
obtained  in  the  boarding-houses,  or  at  the  groceries,  or  hard- 
ware stores,  or  tin-shops.  This  is  done  by  our  pupil  teachers 
here,  that  they  may  be  able  to  teach  this  science  objectively 
it.  their  own  schools. 

Thus,  we  see,  every  science  has  its  own  objective  forms  of 
illustration,  and  that  every  true  object-teacher  will  not  limit 
himself  or  his  class  to  purchased  apparatus ;  but  that,  in  every 
science,  the  best  part  of  objective  illustrations  are  those  ob- 
tained by  the  pupils  from  the  every-day  operations  of  life. 

So  in  mineralogy,  botany,  and  zoology,  the  true  forms  of 
object  illustrations  are  not  so  much  those  found  in  extensive 
collections  of  museums  and  cabinets,  as  those  which  the  pupils 


TRUE    OBJECT    TEACIIIXC1.  257 

can  collect  for.  themselves  in  their  rambles  and  journeys,  clas- 
sifying and  labeling  them  under  the  direction  of  their  teacher. 
or  by  the  aid  of  such  books  or  other  authorities  as  can  be  reached 
without  too  much  labor  or  expense. 

3.  ARTISTIC  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Under  this  head  of  illustra- 
tion in  true  object-teaching,  I  would  include  chiefly  thoce 
efforts  in  drawing,  which  it  is  the  special  endeavor  of  every 
true  object-teacher  to  encourage.  In  geography,  map  drawing 
and  somewhat  of  natural  scenery  and  architecture;  in  natural 
history,  the  drawing  of  vegetable  and  animal  forms;  in  natural 
philosophy,  the  drawing  of  apparatus  as  arranged  for  special 
experiments.  All  of  these,  in  exhaustless  variety,  are  some 
of  the  appliances  by  which  these  subjects  are  made  inviting, 
and  study  is  converted  from  a  burden  and  a  task  into  a  pleas- 
ure and  a  triumph. 

Especially  in  the  primary  and  secondary  departments  in  a 
graded  school,  or  with  the  primary  class  in  an  ungraded  school, 
is  drawing  indispensible  as  a  means  of  interesting  the  children, 
advancing  them  in  reading,  spelling,  and  writing,  and  giving 
them  more  interesting  employment  than  mischief;  last,  not 
least,  in  the  normal  method  of  school  management. 

To  these  results  in  drawing,  in  all  of  the  departments,  the 
true  object-teacher  will  add  such  pictures,  drawings,  casts,  and 
other  artistic  productions  as  he  or  she  may  be  able;  all  of  which 
increase  the  attractiveness  of  a  school-room,  and  of  the  normal 
teacher  himself,  or  herself,  in  making  his  or  her  school  the 
cynosure  of  every  child  that  enters  there. 

Besides  the  illustrations  already  mentioned,  suitable  for  all 
classes,  1  would  furnish  for  the  primary  and  secondary  depart- 
ments a  considerable  quantity  and  variety  of  blocks;  some  of 
the  shape  of  bricks,  four  inches  long;  some  one-inch  and  two- 
inch  cubes ;  also,  connecting  blocks,  sawed  with  grooves  and 
tongues  for  dove-tailing;  also,  a  variety  of  blocks  for  pillars 
and  turrets.  These,  with  a  set  of  geometrical  solids,  would 
furnish  interesting  employment  and  valuable  self-instruction. 
I  would  also  have  the  teacher  trained  in  drawing  from  real 
objects,  and  thus  able  to  guide  and  incite  the  children  in  their 
first  efforts  at  linear  and  perspective  drawing  of  real  objects, 
on  their  slates  and  on  paper.  These  bricks,  cubes,  pyramids, 
etc.,  before  mentioned,  are  as  good  as  any  simple  objects  to 
commence  drawing  from.  Soon  it  will  be  found,  if  children 
are  permitted,  not  required,  to  draw,  that  drawing  any  real 
objects  in  the  school-room,  as  tables,  chairs,  staves,  hats, 
buckets,  will  be  the  amusement  and  excitement  of  the  children 
at  the  times  assigned  for  this  exercise  in  the  programme. 

Thus,  drawing  from  real  objects  on  slates,  building  block* 
17  ' 


258  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

into  architectural  and  mechanical  forms,  using  the  blackboard 
(which  boards  should  extend  to  the  floor  all  around  the  primary 
school-room),  may,  with  some  little  contrivance  and  tact,  some 
real  sympathy  and  interest,  occupy  the  time  of  the  children 
when  not  under  the  direct  drill  of  the  teacher  in  phonetic 
teaching  and  phonetic  reading. 

But  in  a  few  days — at  most,  in  a  few  weeks — by  phonetic 
training,  a  primary  class  of  children  will  be  able  to  begin  to 
study  and  prepare  exercises  in  mental  arithmetic,  or  primary 
geography,  or  primary  physiology.  It  is  preposterous  that 
children  should  be  kept  in  the  primary  department  one  year; 
learning  to  read  in  the  first  reader;  and  in  the  secondary, another, 
in  conning  over  a  second  reader;  and  so  on  through  eight  or 
ten  departments  in  as  many  years ;  learning  nothing  that  in 
any  measure  counterbalances  the  bad  habits  of  hatred  for  school 
and  repugnance  for  labor,  which  they  must  inevitably  get  thor- 
oughly established  under  any  method  that  makes  their  progress 
so  slow,  and  their  continuance  in  school  so  useless  and  irksome. 
So  far  as  my  judgment  could  decide,  I  would  not  have  a  child 
in  school  at  all  till  eight  or  ten  years  of  age.  But,  as  a  teacher 
in  charge  of  children  who  are  legally  entitled  to  school  privi- 
leges when  six  years  old,  I  would  introduce  such  employments 
and  such  apparatus  and  appliances  as  would  make  the  children 
happy,  and  just  as  far  independent  of  the  teacher  during  study 
hours  as  possible. 

This  is  all  the  more  necessary  in  an  ungraded  school,  under 
the  care  of  one  teacher  with  at  least  twenty  classes  to  attend 
to,  besides  all  other  business. 

I  shall  dwell  more  at  length  on  the  methods  of  accom- 
plishing these  ends,  in  speaking  of  the  true  processes  of  using 
these  objects  and  materials  of  illustration  for  amusement  and 
instruction.  I  pass  now  to  speak  of 

4.  PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS.  I  shall  only  be  able  to 
give  a  few  examples  of  this  class  of  illustrations.  They  may 
more  properly,  perhaps,  be  called  applications.  In  geography, 
1.  would  have  the  children  measure  the  school-room,  the  school- 
yard,  the  distance  of  a  mile  in  some  one  direction,  and  for  this 
purpose  a  foot  rule  and  a  measuring  tape  would  be  necessary 
apparatus. 

In  studying  weights  and  measures,  I  would  have  the  actual 
weights  and  measures  used  in  the  school,  in  weighing  and 
measuring  water  and  other  substances.  Scales,  weights,  and 
measures  might  be  borrowed  or  bought  for  this  purpose. 

In  studying  the  mechanical  powers,  or  the  steam-engine,  I 
would  take  the  class,  or  the  school,  to  visit  the  machine  shop, 
or  the  steam  saw-mill  or  grist-mill,  and  examine  the  machinery 


TEUE    OBJECT   TEACHING.  259 

in  operation ;  and  I  would  ask  the  proprietor  for  a  full  oppor- 
tunity to  examine  the  machinery  in  all  its  details,  and  relations, 
and  particular  uses. 

In  teaching  surveying,  I  would  train  the  pupils  in  the  re- 
alitv  of  surveying;  in  the  use,  adjustment,  and  repair  of  the 
instruments;  in  plotting  their  own  surveys,  and  computing 
them. 

In  chemistry,  I  would  not  fail  to  give  the  student  oppor- 
tunity to  examine  the  substances  described,  and  to  familiarize 
him  with  the  use  of  the  apparatus  in  preparing  experiments, 
and  performing  the  various  operations  of  the  laboratory.  A 
good  working  laboratory  can  be  fitted  up  by  any  teacher  who 
"  has  a  heart  to  it,"  with  comparatively  little  expense. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  numberless  varieties  of  prac- 
tical illustrations,  which  I  consider  essential  to  good  teaching 
in  every  branch.  Is  it  then  asked,  what  practical  illustrations 
could  be  used  in  studying  English  grammar?  I  answer,  the 
true  study  of  grammar  is  conducted  entirely  by  practical  illus- 
tration, and  less  by  memoriter  book  lessons  than  almost  any 
other  science  or  art,  not  excepting  the  common  trades  of  shoe- 
making,  tailoring,  blacksmithing,  etc.  If  our  children  were 
permitted  to  study  the  language  practically,  instead  of  being 
compelled  to  learn  some  grammar  by  heart,  the  study  would 
become  the  most  exciting  and  valuable  io  the  school  drill, 
instead  of  the  most  repulsive  and  useless,  as  is  now  too  often 
the  case  in  many  schools.  The  writing  of  letters,  essays,  and 
reports  are  practical  illustrations  of  mental  power  and  its  devel- 
opment, as  well  as  of  the  principles  of  spelling,  syntax,  and 
rhetoric. 

But  the  collection  of  cabinets  of  minerals  for  the  school,  and 
each  pupil  for  himself,  can  in  many  localities  be  made  a  very 
interesting  and  useful  exercise.  Besides  the  mineral  cabinet, 
the  collection  of  animal  and  vegetable  curiosities,  and  the  proper 
display  of  them  in  the  school-room,  can  be  made  exceedingly 
useful  in  elevating  the  school  in  the  opinion  of  the  children, 
and  changing  the  idea  of  school  life  from  that  of  hateful,  prison 
drill,  to  that  of  a  really  free  and  happy  employment,  immeas- 
urably more  attractive  and  exciting  than  any  villainous  games 
or  sports  that  boys  playing  hookey  can  engage  in. 

But  walks,  short  journeys  even,  with  a  class  or  school,  as 
affording  opportunity  for  observation  in  geography,  study  in 
geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  and  natural  history,  will  be  found 
full  of  practical  illustrations  in  these  sciences  and  others,  and 
in  many  of  the  useful  arts. 

By  the  means  of  all  of  these  illustrations,  and  the  processes 
which  I  propose  to  describe  in  connection  with  them,  not  only 


260  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT. 

is  every  -worthy  object,  whether  in  the  rote-force  system  or  in 
the  object-lesson  system,  attained,  with  greater  rapidity  and 
certainty  than  in  those  systems,  but  what  is  of  infinitely  more 
value  than  any  thing  which  either  of  these  systems  seems  to 
contemplate  in  its  drill  or  outlook — the  habits  of  cheerful,  joyous 
occupation  for  worthy  and  remunerative  ends  is  fixed ;  the  habit 
of  thoroughness  and  mastery  in  whatever  the  child  or  youth 
engages  is  established;  the  habit  of  promptitude,  systematic 
action  and  dispatch,  becomes  itself  a  success  in  giving  success 
to  every  work  and  enterprise  engaged  in ;  the  habit  of  real 
enjoyment  in  doing  good  (rather  than  in  doing  evil)  is  vital- 
ized, energized,  and  becomes  the  working  power  of  the  life. 
These  habits  make  the  boy  or  the  girl  just  what  the  God  of 
Nature  and  of  Grace  designed  that  he  or  she  should  be,  in  His 
great  scheme  of  agencies  for  the  redemption  of  our  fallen  race. 

KEMARK.— The  briefest  statement  possible  of  the  means  of  illustration 
lias  occupied  so  much  time  and  space,  I  shall  be  compelled  to  devote  an- 
other hour  to  the  description  of  some  of  the  processes  necessary  to  make 
these  different  classes  of  illustration  available  in  True  Object-teaching. 


LECTURE  ON  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


LECTURE  XXL 


PROCESSES  OF  TRUE  OBJECT-TEACHING 
IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


1.  In   attempting   to   describe  the   processes   of  true   object 
teaching,  two  difficulties  present  themselves:  (1)  the  descrip- 
tion  is  unnecessary  to  those  present,  who  have  been   trained 
here,  more  or  less,  in  these  very  processes;  (2)  they  can  hardly 
be  made  intelligible  to  those  who  have  not  used  them,  or,  at 
least,  witnessed  their  operation   and  enjoyed  their   results  in 
the   school  work ;   nevertheless,   in    order  to  give  a  somewhat 
complete  view  in  this  course  of  lectures  of  the  system  of  Nor- 
mal  School  management  as  here  wrought  out  and  taught,   I 
shall  venture  on  the  description  of  these  processes,  with  the 
hope  that  the  statements  and  details  may  hereafter  prove  val- 
uable by  way  of  reference  or  suggestion  in  your  several  fields 
of  labor. 

2.  I   would   like,  if  possible,   to  make  these  statements,  so 
that  they  may  be  applicable   both  to  graded  and  unclassified 
schools,  saving  the  time  and  space  necessary  for  a  re-arrange- 
ment and  restatement  for  either  purpose.     I  shall  attempt  this 
double  work  as  one ;  and  in   order  to  bring  the  description 
within  the  least  limits  consistent  with  perspicuity,  shall  give 

261 


262  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT — LECTURE    XXI. 

the  processes  only  for  five  departments  in  a  graded  school, 
viz:  The  High,  Grammar,  Intermediate,  Secondary,  and  Pri- 
mary Departments.  These  four  last,  it  will  be  noticed,  cor- 
respond respectively,  as  near  as  may  be,  to  the  four  grades 
in  a  well  organized  unclassified  country  school. 

3.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind   at  every  step,  as  we  proceed, 
that  in  every  effort  you  make  in  carrying  these  processes  into 
practice,  that  the  same  true  objects  of  True  Object  Teaching 
are  ever  present ;  the  same  spirit  of  Liberty,  of  Enthusiasm,  of 
Charity,    of   Benevolence    is    ever    operative    and    controlling 
both  teacher  and  pupil ;  and  that  the  noble  and  precious  re- 
sults of  a  true  manhood,  a  beautiful  womanhood,  working  in 
cheerful   industry,  with    vigorous  enterprise,  for   eminent   at- 
tainments in  a  pure,  honorable,  and  useful  life,  are  constantly 
foreshadowed,  with  more   and   more   promise  day  by  day,    in 
every  pupil's  character  engaged   in  these  processes  and  their 
concomitant  exercises. 

4.  In   order  to    make  these  descriptions  intelligible  to   the 
uninitiated,  and   at  the  same  time  to  bring  them  within  the 
limit  of  a  lecture,   I  shall  be  compelled  to  select  one   or  two 
exercises  in  one  or  two  branches  in  .each  of  five  departments, 
more  to  illustrate  the   nature  and  drift  of  tjiese  forms  of  in- 
struction, than  to  give  any  connected  and  available  guide  to 
their  development  and  practice.     These  can  only  be  obtained 
by  a  consecutive  and  protracted  course  of  training. 

I.  OBJECTIVE  TEACHING  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL. 

1.  RHETORIC. — In  this  branch,  in  contradistinction  from 
the  ordinary  rote  method  of  requiring  memorized  recitations 
from  one  text-book,  we  make  use  of  a  variety  of  text-books 
in  a  class,  using  them  more  for  the  purpose  of  training  our 
pupils  in  the  processes  of  finding  what  they  desire  to  know 
in  the  development  of  a  given  theme,  than  as  text- books. 
The  real  work  in  the  study  of  rhetoric,  with  us,  is  most  purely 
objective ;  making  text-books  our  servants,  or  mere  tools, 
collateral  or  subordinate  aids,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  class 
work.  From  first  to  last,  the  teacher  lays  out  the  work  in 
the  hour  of  recitation  for  the  class  to  perform  during  the 
study  hours  assigned  to  them.  He  also  gives  such  prelim- 
inary drill  as  is  necessary  to  the  understanding  of  the  work 
to  be  performed,  and  such  as  will  excite  an  interest  in  this 
work,  so  that,  while  it  shall  be  done  intelligently,  it  shall  be 
done  with  all  cheerfulness,  in  the  spirit  of  true  enterprise  and 
of  noble  emulation.  The  only  difficulty  in  this  plan  is,  that 
pupils  can  hardly  restrain  themselves  to  the  prescribed  hours, 


TRUE    OBJECT-TEACHING. 

and  too  often  give  more  time  to  these  themes  than  is  consist- 
ent with  other  duties. 

Now,  such  a  class,  managed  by  this  objective  method,  with 
these  Normal  objects  in  view,  enumerated  and  explained  in  my 
last  lecture,  never  fail  to  rouse  themselves  to  their  highest  effort, 
in  the  preparation  of  their  daily  assigned  work.  Day  by  day, 
as  the  result  of  such  earnest  labor  in  the  spirit  of  liberty  and 
enthusiasm,  a  higher  power  is  evoked  in  each  soul,  and^a 
better  habit  of  strenuous  exertion  for  noble  ends  is  fixed  in 
every  life.  And  just  this  is  what  we  work  for,  and  what  we 
consider  the  True  Object  System  of  teaching.  And  we  ac- 
complish what  we  work  for  ;  that 's  the  beauty  of  the  thing. 

I  have  shown,  in  another  lecture  (Lect.  ,  p.  ),  how 
the  higher  objects,  good-will  to  man  and  reverence  for  God, 
are  reached  in  the  spirit  of  charity,  benevolence,  and  devo- 
tion. Success  in  attaining  these  higher  objects,  as  also  the 
others,  must  depend  on  the  peculiar  character  of  the  teacher. 
He  can  not  fail,  in  the  Normal  method  of  Object-Teaching,  to 
impress  his  own  spirit  into  the  very  life  and  soul  of  every 
pupil. 

Now,  I  claim  that,  while  a  knowledge  of  Rhetoric,  as  a 
science  and  art,  is  held  as  very  subordinate  in  this  objective 
method  of  treating  the  subject,  yet  a  more  than  ten-fold  power 
is  obtained  by  this  method  over  that  obtained  by  any  other 
method  which  I  have  ever  known  used  in  the  college  drills. 
Work  that  is  work,  in  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  liberty, 
accomplishes  miracles,  when  compared  with  work  which  is 
drudgery  in  the  spirit  of  toil  and  submission  to  exacting  requi- 
istions  for  such  mere  temporary  and  inadequate  ends  as  good 
recitations,  in  expectation  of  reward,  or  avoiding  censure,  and 
in  preparation  for  a  quarterly  or  annual  examination.  How 
hateful  and  burdensome,  comparatively,  is  such  work ;  and 
how  much  of  shirking,  deceit  and  shamming  necessarily  enters 
into  all  this  line  of  what  is  called  instruction,  education, 
preparation  for  life!  If  there  is  any  vim  or  juice  in  it,  it  is 
all  in  the  wrong  direction — establishing  bad  habits,  and  fixing 
the  supremacy  of  bad  inclinations,  passions,  and  practices  in 
the  school  work  for  the  life  outfit. 

To  make  this  objective  method  as  intelligible  as  possible,  I 
will  ask  your  attention  for  a  moment  to  some  specimen  points 
in  the  management  of  a  Rhetoric  Class,  conducted  in  the 
method  that  I  consider  Normal,  or  that,  for  the  time  being,  I 
denominate  "The  True  Object  Method."  No  object-Wesson  taint 
can  be  found  in  it.  Instead  of  assigning  lessons  by  the  page 
or  chapter  in  one  text-book,  according  to  the  college  method, 
tho  teacher  gives  a  drill  in  partitioning  some  theme  involv 


20'i  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT — LECTURE  xxi. 

ing  some  common  iiiul  interesting  object — as  a  The  Watch." 
The  class  is  led  on  to  consider  and  suggest  the  subordinate 
topics  contained  under  the  general  theme,  such  as  the  history, 
construction,  materials,  classes,  movements,  modes  of  manu- 
facture, uses,  abuses,  etc.  While  the  hour  of  recitation  is 
thus  mostly  spent  in  developing  this  theme  in  subordinate 
themes,  by  arousing  the  thinking  and  observing  energies  of 
ihe  class,  at  the  close  of  the  exercise  another  theme  is  given 
for  the  class  to  study  out,  each  pupil  by  himself,  during  his 
study  hour.  The  steam  engine,  for  instance,  would  be  an 
appropriate  'theme,  provided  the  class  could  visit  one,  or 
more,  in  the  village  or  neighborhood. 

At  the  next  recitation  the  prepared  outlines  are  received, 
examined,  commented  on  by  the  teacher  and  pupils;  and, 
possibly,  it  may  be  best  to  giv^  another  day  to  study  the 
same  theme,  objectively,  in  this  same  general  manner ;  prob- 
ably not. 

The  logical  or  natural  order  of  arrangement  of  these  sub- 
ordinate themes  now  receives  attention.  Each  pupil  is  re- 
quested to  pin  or  tack  his  paper  to  the  wall,  that  every  other 
pupil  may  have  opportunity  to  aid  himself  by  examining  the 
work  of  every  other  in  completing  his  arrangement  of  subor- 
dinate topics  in  the  general  outline.  When  this  is  done,  each 
pupil  is  requested  to  arrange  the  entire  list  of  subordinate 
topics  in  that  order  which  seems  to  him  the  most  natural  and 
appropriate  for  their  consecutive  discussion.  The  several  ar- 
rangements are  then  examined  by  the  teacher,  the  merits  or 
demerits  of  one  or  two  discussed  by  the  class,  and  the  place  of 
each  topic  decided  by  a  vote  of  the  class,  so  far  as  time  will 
permit.  The  object  of  this  part  of  the  drill  is  to  interest  the 
class  in  the  power  of  relations,  beauty  of  systematic  arrange- 
ment, and  to  confirm  the  habit  of  systematizing  whatever  they 
take  in  hand,  and  to  establish  the  love  of  good  order  every- 
where. . 

Then  a  subordinate  topic  is  assigned  to  each,  for  him  or  her 
to  partition  in  preparation  for  elaboration  in  a  brief  and  yet 
exhaustive  essay,  giving  a  description  or  discussion  appropri- 
ate to  the  particular  theme  assigned.  The  partitioning  of 
some  of  these  subordinate  topics  may  be  necessary  in  the 
class,  and  by  the  whole  class,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
teacher,  in  order  to  secure  earnest  work  at  this  step,  and  pre- 
vent discouragement  on  the  part  of  any  pupil.  These  out- 
lines of  subordinate  topics  are  received  at  the  next  recitation, 
and  examined  by  the  teacher,  or  they  may  be  pinned  or 
tacked  to  the  wall,  as  before,  for  general  examination.  It 
may  be  well  to  propose  to  grade  these  consecutive  papers  iu 


TRUE   OBJECT-TEACHING.  265 

three  particulars,  viz. :  neatness,  exhaust! veness,  logical  ar- 
rangement, on  a  scale  from  1  to  5  in  each  particular. 

The  pupils,  in  making  out  these  outlines,  have  been  en- 
couraged to  get  information  from  every  reliable  source,  first, 
and  best  always,,  by  using  their  own  powers  of  observation  on 
the  object  itself;  secondly,  by  conversation  with  those  who 
are  most  familiar  with  the  article  or  object  under  considera- 
tion ;  and,  lastly,  by  consulting  any  books  that  will  give  any 
pertinent  information. 

The  subordinate  topics  are  then  elaborated  and  read  by  the 
several  pupils,  for  the  general  interest  and  instruction  of  the 
class.  The  teacher  often  finds  himself  as  much  instructed  as 
any  other  member  of  the  class.  These  papers  are  then  taken 
and  examined  by  the  teacher,  and  returned  to  the  pupils,  with 
the  errors  noted  by  figures  given  on  the  scale  of  criticism — 
from  1  to  20.  The  pupils  are  then  requested  to  correct  the 
errors  thus  indicated,  and  another  hour  or  more  is  occupied  in 
receiving  from  the  pupils  the  correction  of  their  own  errors,  as 
they  give  them  aloud  before  the  class.  As  soon  as  the  work 
on  the  first  general  theme  is  completed  by  any  of  the  pupils, 
another  general  theme  of  similar  character  is  assigned.  It  is 
necessary,  in  this  class,  as  elsewhere,  to  furnish  work,  a 
plenty  of  work,  for  every  pupil,  or  the  result  is  dissatisfac- 
tion, laziness,  or  mischief. 

But,  after  having  assigned  two  or  three  themes  of  these  vis- 
ible and  tangible  objects,  the  ends  for  using  them  are  attained, 
and  a  higher  class  of  themes  is  then  assigned — as  photography, 
telegraphy,  or  some  other  useful  art.  These  being  treated  in 
a  more  vigorous  manner — as  the  pupils  can  bear  it — are  laid 
aside,  and  a  more  abstract  class  of  themes  is  gradually 
readied,  and  more  thoroughly  canvassed,  and  more  elabo- 
rately discussed  by  our  young  writers.  The  development  of 
power  by  this  process  is  so  rapid,  and  the  accumulation  of 
energy  is  so  great,  that  no  unprejudiced  observer  will  say 
I  exaggerate  when  I  affirm  that  ten  times  as  much  is  ac- 
complished by  this  "  True  Object  Method,"  as  by  any  of  the 
musty,  lazy,  slavish  book-lesson  methods  pursued  in  the  acad- 
emies or  colleges.  Rather,  he  would  say,  I  opine,  that  these 
same  college  methods,  handed  down  from  the  dark  ages,  are 
a  positive  waste  of  time,  and  a  terrible  abuse  of  mind  and 
character,  when  compared  with  the  True  Normal  Method  of 
Objective  teaching  in  this  branch  of  study. 

The  enthusiasm  aroused  is  so  intense  that  the  laziest  are 
reached,  and  the  most  actively-mischievous  and  vicious  are 
controlled  and  converted,  for  the  most  part,  into  noble  and 
pure  workers.  These  vicious  ones,  made  so  by  bad  school 


266  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT — LECTURE   XXI. 

management  in  previous  schools;  from  being  the  curse  of  the 
community  and  the  dread  of  the  teacher,  become  the  pride  of 
the  school,  and  the  leaders  in  all  good  works  in  the  com- 
munity at  large.  But  these  are  only  the  necessary  and  legit- 
imate results  of  true  teaching;  and  the  true  teacher  expects 
such  things.  He  is  satisfied  with  nothing  less.  It  is  his 
mission  to  do  what  the  pulpit  can  not — to  reach  even  further, 
with  his  schemes  of  active  benevolence,  than  the  Sabbath- 
school  or  the  colporteur. 

To  those  of  you  who  have  participated  in  just  such  exci- 
cises  in  our  Normal  classes  here,  I  am  sure  my  description  of 
these  processes  will  seem  meager,  and  my  statements,  as  to  the 
results  obtained  in  this  kind  of  normal  objective  drill,  very 
tame;  but  I  trust  you  feel  energized  by  your  experience  as 
pupils  here  to  carry  these  same  processes,  improved  by  your 
own  ingenuity  and  enthusiasm,  into  your  own  schools  wherever 
you  go. 

2.  CHEMISTRY. — I  shall  now,  as  time  and  space  may  permit, 
develop  the  objective  method  cf  treating  one  of  the  natural 
sciences,  chemistry,  for  instance.  It  would  be  supposed  that 
college  professors,  with  a  good  supply  of  materials  and  appa- 
ratus, would,  at  least,  in  the  natural  sciences,  prove  to  be  object- 
ive teachers.  But,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  consider  them  only 
object-lesson  teachers;  they  do  too  much  of  the  work  in  hand- 
ling the  apparatus  and  materials,  and  nearly  all  the  thinking 
in  lecturing  before  the  classes,  thus  making  their  pupils  more 
helpless,  lazy,  and  mischievous  than  if  helplessness,  laziness, 
and  mischief  were  the  objects  for  which  they  were  working. 

It  is  true  that  many  professors  in  colleges,  and  many  college 
teachers  in  academies,  require  memoriter  recitations  from  text- 
books in  the  natural  sciences;  and  I  am  at  loss  to  determine 
which  of  the  two  methods  is  the  most  effective  in  establishing 
bad  habits  in  the  pupils — the  lecturing  plan  or  the  memoriter 
plan.  Much  evil  inevitably  results  from  both  ;  and  some 
good,  undoubtedly,  in  spite  of  their  general  and  baneful  ten- 
dency. You  know  very  well,  my  friends,  how  these  things 
are  managed  here.  We  permit  our  pupils  to  do  the  work,  the 
thinking,  the  lecturing ;  and  a  more  enthusiastic  crowd  was 
never  witnessed,  than  that  which  assemble  daily  to  work  out  a 
thorough  mastery  of  chemistry.  Laziness,  where  can  it  lodge? 
Mischief,  who  has  any  time  for  it  ?  The  only  trouble  is,  there 
is  not  time  enough  to  do  one-tenth  of  what  each  pupil  desires 
to  do. 

It  is  asserted  by  some  college  gentlemen  that,  by  such  meth- 
ods as  these,  the  pupils  fail  to  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
science  or  art  studied,  because  they  do  not  prepare  themselves 


TRUE    OBJECT-TEACHING.  267 

fco  be  examined  in  some  text-book  on  that  science  or  art.  My 
reply  is,  that,  by  such  objective  processes  as  are  practiced  here, 
the  pupil  obtains  a  ten-fold  more  practical  and  valuable  knowl- 
edge of  any  subject,  than  by  any  amount  of  mental  labor  be- 
stowed in  memorizing  one  text-book,  or  in  preparing  for  any 
examination,  however  rigid.  In  the  one  case,  the  labor  is 
bestowed  directly  and  objectively  on  the  substances  and  facts 
involved,  also  to  their  applications  in  business  or  in  science ; 
end  these  real  and  objective  processes,  if  managed  with  any 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  can  not  fail  to  arouse  every 
energy  the  pupil  possesses.  In  the  other,  the  mental  labor 
is  given  indirectly  to  the  words  and  ideas  of  the  text-book, 
looking  more  to  the  marks  of  censure  and  approbation  in  the 
recitation,  than  to  the  applications  and  relations  of  the  truths 
contained  in  the  text-book.  In  fact,  not  one  in  a  thousand 
gets  any  clear  apprehension  of  the  ideas  contained  in  a  text- 
book without  the  objective  work  to  aid  the  mind  and  heart  in 
the  effort. 

The  Objective  or  Normal  Method  is  full  of  enthusiasm  and 
fruitful  in  results  for  good,  both  in  the  school  life  and  in  aftei 
life,  through  the  habits  established  and  the  power  obtained. 
The  college  or  rote-force  method  is  a  paralysis  to  all  volun- 
tary effort,  and  is  fruitful  in  results  for  evil,  both  in  college 
or  school  life,  and  after  life,  through  the  vicious  habits  estab- 
lished and  the  utter  lack  of  personal  power,  energy,  and  enter- 
prise engendered,  whether  by  the  memoriter  processes,  or  by 
the  object-lesson  processes  connected  with  the  lecturing  method 
of  instruction  as  now  pursued  in  nearly  all  colleges  and  uni- 
versities. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  A  CHEMISTRY  CLASS. 

Instead  of  assigning  a  lesson  of  some  six  or  eight  pages  at 
the  beginning  of  the  book,  to  be  memorized  by  the  class,  foi 
the  first  recitation,  according  to  the  rote-force  method;  in- 
s'ead  of  delivering  a  learned  introductory  lecture,  desiring 
the  pupils  to  take  notes  in  preparation  for  an  examination  on 
the  subject-matter  of  the  lecture,  according  to  the  most  ap- 
proved college  method;  which  method,  as  it  proceeds,  de- 
velops itself  as  being  the  veritable  object-lesson  method  im- 
ported from  Germany  into  our  colleges,  and  into  our  primary 
and  secondary  schools  by  the  way  of  Oswego ;  instead  of  any 
rote-force  method,  or  any  object-lesson,  however  modified,  I 
would  strive,  in  my  first  exercise,  by  the  use  of  objects,  to 
arouse  an  interest  in  the  subject;  such  an  interest  as  would 
stimulate  my  pupils  at  once  to  apply  themselves  to  work,  for 


268  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT LECTURE    XXI. 

the  love  of  it ;  to  thorough-going,  self-propelling  work.  This 
I  would  strive  to  accomplish  by  processes  like  these  which  I 
shall  attempt  to  describe.  I  would,  in  the  first  place,  direct 
the  attention  of  pupils  to  the  iron  rust  on  the  stove,  stove- 
pipe, or  other  iron  surface  in  the  room,  noticing  the  difference 
between  the  iron  and  iron  rust.  I  would  also  ask  the  class  to 
mention  other  kinds  of  rust;  and  I  would  then  ask  the  class 
to  open  their  text-books  (of  which  there  would  better  be  sev- 
eral different  kinds  in  the  hands  of  different  pupils)  to  the 
chapter  on  oxygen.  I  would  ask  them  to  find  the  article  on 
oxides,  and  from  that,  if  possible,  discover  the  true  nature  of 
rust,  whether  of  iron  or  other  metals.  I  would  then  ask  my 
class  to  discover,  if  possible,  from  their  books  where  else  oxy- 
gen could  be  found  beside  in  rust.  The  leading  facts  in  re- 
gard to  the  presence  of  oxygen  would  thus  be  drawn  out  of 
the  text-book  by  the  class,  in  connection  with  the  objects ; 
rust,  air,  water,  etc.  I  would  then  inquire  if  any  one  in  the 
class  can  ascertain  the  process  by  which  oxygen  can  be  ob- 
tained in  a  separate  and  pure  state.  Yes.  The  description 
of  the  process  is  read.  Now,  wTho  would  like  to  step  forward 
and  perform  the  experiment,  as  described  in  the  book,  of 
"  making  oxygen  ?  "  "  Here  is  the  apparatus ;  here  is  the  ma- 
terial given  ;  here  is  every  thing  you  need  for  the  purpose.'7 
I  shall,  probably,  have  a  dozen  volunteers  for  the  work.  I 
accept  of  two  to  work  under  my  eye,  and  in  the  presence  of 
the  class,  in  the  manufacture  of  oxygen. 

All  are  watching  eagerly  the  process  of  preparation,  and 
when  the  oxygen  begins  to  "  come  over/'  expressions  of  satis- 
faction or  delight  burst  from  members  of  the  class.  Several 
jars  or  glass  fruit-cans  are  filled  with  the  gas.  By  this  time, 
perhaps,  the  hour  of  recitation  is  nearly  gone,  and  time  must 
be  taken  to  assign  the  lesson,  and  to  explain  the  method  of 
study.  A  topic  list,  previously  written  on  the  blackboard,  is 
now  presented  and  explained  as  the  means  by  which  they  can 
study  the  substance  and  the  subject,  oxygen.  Pupils  are  re- 
quested to  copy  this  topic  list,  and  to  prepare  themselves  to 
discuss  any  topic  contained  in  the  list,  in  its  relation  to  oxy- 
gen, at  the  next  recitation.  It  is  also  stated  that  some  of 
these  topics  will  be  found  more  fully  treated  in  some  books 
and  some  in  others.  It  will  be  desirable  for  every  pupil  to 
have  the  use  of  more  than  one  text  or  reference  book  in  pre- 
paring the  lesson.  If  this  is  not  practicable,  each  must  do 
the  best  he  can  with  one  book.  If  the  teacher  can  possibly 
find  time  and  strength,  he  will  do  well  to  ask  two  or  three 
pupils  to  meet  him,  at  some  time,  outside  the  regular  school 
hours,  to  prepare  experiments  for  exhibition  before  the  class 


TKUiS   OBJECT-TEACHING.  269 

at  the  next  recitation.  The  proper  conducting  of  any  class  in 
natural  science  needs  an  extra  hour  with  a  part  or  the  whole 
of  the  class  in  the  preparation  of  materials  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  apparatus  for  successful  experimenting  during  the 
hour  of  recitation.  This  hour  of  drill  in  manipulation  is 
worth  more  to  the  pupils  who  engage  in  it,  vastly  more,  than 
all  the  rest  without  it. 

At  the  next  recitation,  then,  the  experiments  are  performed 
by  those  who  have  enjoyed  the  previous  drill  during  the  extra 
hour;  and,  possibly,  some  others  are  permitted  to  repeat  the 
same  experiments  for  the  sake  of  general  practice,  and  giving 
greater  familiarity  to  the  whole  class  with  the  experiments, 
their  manipulations  and  explanations. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that,  as  each  pupil  performs  an  ex- 
periment, he  is  expected  to  give  an  explanation  of  its  details 
and  results,  and  make  its  applications  and  connections  with 
the  general  line  of  discussion  in  the  development  of  the  gen- 
eral subject.  It  may  be  necessury,  at  first,  for  the  teacher  to 
aid  the  pupil  in  his  efforts  at  explanation  by  some  suggestions 
or  questions;  and  if  the  pupil  fails,  the  class  is  called  upon 
for  the  elucidation  of  the  point  under  consideration,  and  some 
volunteer  is  requested  to  give  his  view  in  regard  to  the  mat- 
ter in  hand. 

Oxygen  being  the  first  substance  examined,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  detain  the  class  on  it,  as  a  subject  of  study  and  manip- 
ulation, for  three  or  four  days,  before  hydrogen  shall  be  as- 
Higned  as  the  next  substance  to  be  examined  in  the  light  of 
the  same  "topic  list."  A  similar  but  more  rapid  course  will 
be  pursued  in  the  management  of  hydrogen,  and  other  simples 
and  compounds,  the  teacher  always  selecting  such  as,  in  his 
judgment,  will  be  best  calculated  to  sustain  and  increase  the 
interest  and  working  power  of  the  class. 

I  have  only  attempted,  here,  to  give  a  description  of  the 
introductory  work  for  a  class  in  chemistry.  It  is  sufficient, 
however,  I  apprehend,  to  give  some  idea  of  the  processes  in- 
volved in  TRUE  OBJECT  TEACHING,  as  applied  to  the  natural 
sciences. 

As  the  class  progress,  on  the  same  general  plan,  new  devices 
are  introduced  at  every  step,  to  secure  the  grand  OBJECTS  set 
forth  in  order  in  lecture  XIX. 

Can  it  be  supposed  that,  with  such  processes,  carried  out  in 
the  spirit  of  liberty,  enthusiasm,  and  kindness,  that  there  can. 
be  any  possibility  that  any  pupil  should  continue  in  habits  of 
laziness  and  mischief,  shirking  and  shamming? 

It  will  be  perceived  that  no  memorizing  of  definitions,  proc- 
esses, or  explanations  is  tolerated,  much  loss  required.  Noth- 


270  SCHOOL    MANAGEMENT — LECTURE   XXI. 

ing  so  repulsive  and  hateful,  so  useless  and  abominable,  is  per- 
mitted to  neutralize  the  interest  and  power  of  True  Object 
Teaching.  It  will  also  be  noticed  that  the  lecturing  is  done 
almost  entirely  by  the  students,  and  that  the  manipulations 
and  experimenting  are  given  into  their  hands  and  hearts,  as  a 
means  of  arousing  the  highest  possible  interest  and  energy,  as 
the  true  working  power  of  the  class. 

It  has  not  unfrequently  been  the  case  that  pupils  managed 
in  this  way  originate  apparatus  of  their  own  in  their  own 
rooms,  homes,  or  elsewhere,  to  practice  still  more  than  the  pos- 
sibility of  class  drill  will  permit.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the 
teacher  calls  for  volunteers  to  get  up  a  certain  experiment  with 
apparatus  of  their  own  construction  ;  and,  in  a  class  properly 
managed,  there  will  be  no  lack  of  volunteers  for  this  or  any  other 
good  purpose.  Such  experiments  and  apparatus  are  generally 
exhibited  before  the  class,  and  commented  upon  by  the  class  in 
due  order,  after  the  explanation  or  lecture  by  the  exhibitor. 

Now,  if  some  good,  honest,  hard-working  rote-force  teacher 
objects  to  this  method  of  teaching  chemistry,  natural  philos- 
ophy, or  physiology,  by  saying  that  "I  can  teach  the  lessons 
as  they  are  given  in  the  book  well  enough  for  me  ;  but  as  for 
the  experimenting,  I  have  n't  any  apparatus,  and  if  I  had,  I 
would  not  know  how  to  use  it;  in  fact,  it  would  only  keep  the 
scholars  from  getting  good  lessons,"  I  reply,  that  your  teach- 
ing any  one  of  the  natural  sciences  by  book  lessons  alone  is  just 
as  sensible  and  useful  as  it  would  be  for  the  architect  or  sur- 
geon to  teach  his  pupils  the  t(  art  and  mystery  "  of  his  profes- 
sion by  book  lessons  alone.  No,  the  book  teacher,  the  rote- 
force  teacher,  is  a  quack  and  a  nuisance.  He  makes  his  pupils 
wicked,  and,  in  the  main,  defeats  the  true  OBJECTS  of  school 
life,  and  too  often  of  the  entire  life,  by  making  school  work 
burdensome  and  hateful.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  ob- 
ject-lcsson  lecturers,  with  their  most  approved  courses  of  in- 
struction after  the  manner  of  the  German  Universities?  I  am 
free  to  say  that,  comparatively,  they  belittle  and  paralyze  their 
pupils,  by  failing  to  arouse  that  spirit  and  enthusiasm  of  in- 
dependent investigation,  of  self-propelling  work,  of  thorough 
mastery  of  subjects,  of  systematic  arrangement  of  their  labor 
und  acquisitions,  of  a  ready,  coherent,  and  apt  expression  of 
their  own  thoughts;  by  failing  to  draw  out  of  their  pupils  that 
self-sacrificing  energy  for  the  good  of  a  class,  which  the  True 
Object  method  of  teaching  is  sure  to  accomplish,  as  its  neces- 
sary and  legitimate  result. 


INDEX 


Arrangement,  habit  of,  119. 

Advanced  classes,  normal  method,  129. 

Analysis,  power  of  in  class,  146;  teacher,  18. 

Alphabet,  teaching  the.  223. 

Attention,  how  secured,  18;  to  necessary  wants,  72; 
of  parents,  62;  object  in  class  management,  144. 

Affectk  n,  its  power,  44. 

A  ptncss  to  teach,  14. 

Appeal,  power  of,  45. 

Attendance,  irregularity,  74. 

Aim  of  education,  33. 

Ambition,  true  and  perverted,  58. 

Artifices  to  secure  prompt  attendance,  79. 

Arithmetic,  class  in  mental,  135;  classification  in, 
167:  examination.  169. 

Artistic  illustrations,  257. 

Approbation,  in  recitation,  195. 

Absurdities  of  object  teachipg,  239. 

Bad  grammar,  92. 

Blackboards,  85. 

Benevolence,  12o. 

Books,  certain  objections  to,  84;  and  things,  127. 

Book-keeping,  171. 

Book-lessons,  236;  worms,  14;  knowledge,  5. 

Class  management,  114:  objects  of,  144. 

in  mental  arithmetic,  135. 

Classes,  few  as  possible,  list,  173. 

Class,  privation  of  position  in,  214. 

Charity,  spirit  of,  254. 

Chemistry  in  liigh  school,  266;  class  in  same,  267. 

Christian  faith  necessary,  104. 

Criticisms  on  object  teaching,  235. 

Common  sense,  3. 

Confinement  in  school-room,  7. 

College'  management,  32. 

Combination,  power  of,  46. 

Contrivance  better  than  force,  56. 

Compulsory  study,  74. 

Controlling  temper,  99;  affection,  etc.,  99. 

Confidence  in  self,  102;  human  nature,  103;  God,  104. 

Conscience,  grammatical,  94. 

Constitution,  human,  outline  of,  108. 

Composition  writing,  with  outlines,  122. 

Conversation  and  correspondence  or  pupil,  126. 

Communication  in  school,  145;  law  against,  199;  how 
allowed,  200. 

Contracts  with  directors,  157. 

Co-operation  of  directors,  188. 

Corporal  punishment,  215. 

Depravity  of  human  nature,  103. 

Debating  clubs,  132. 

Declaiming  essays,  132. 

Dislike  of  any  branch,  15. 

Djstinct  apprehension,  20. 

Difficulties,  remarks  on  various,  65;  self,  92. 

Dishonesty  in  teacher,  12. 

Djscipline,  73;  104;  210. 

Directors,  called  in,  88;  arrangements  with,  157;  co- 
operation of.  188. 

Divorce  of  ideas  from  objects,  127. 

Drill  in  mental  arithmetic,  139. 

Diligence,  incited,  178. 

Early  rising,  97. 

Examiner's  certificate,  not  conclusive,  128. 

Essays,  reports,  etc.,  128. 

fxtra  p-Jpils,  etc.,  contract  about,  158,  160. 
xplain  ing  power,  grades  of,  19. 
Enterprise,  a  field  for,  52. 
Evening  st'idy,  97;  parties,  231. 
Expression,  propriety  of  in  pupil,  128. 
Exercises,  opening  and  closing,  171. 
Excellence,  enterprise  for,  191 
Exemption  from  study.  208. 
Errors  ic  college,  33. 
Excuses,  not  received,  209. 

fnthusiwm,  spirit  of,  254. 
alse  and  true  conceptions  of  school  work,  110. 
t  alse  reporting,  227. 

Facility  of  expression,  21;  of  illustration,  24 
Forced  study,  8. 
Force  teachers,  103;  methods,  178. 

Jormation  of  habits,  115. 
net,  lack  of,  86. 
Grammar,  bad,  92;  nicety  in.  93;  reports  on,  94. 

< organization  in  English,  170. 

Grammatical  conscience,  94. 


God,  must  commune  with,  104. 

Governing  power,  26;  force,  27;  police,  90;  personal 
influence,  prevalent  form,  27. 

Government,  college,  errors,  34;  made  easy,  54. 

Habits,  bad,  70;  education,  the  formation  of,  115;  cer- 
tain habits  discussed,  115:  defined,  123. 

Hard  cases,  87;  229. 

Health,  ventilation,  11. 

Heroism  of  early  rising,  98. 

Hickok's  science  of  mind.  107. 

High  school,  object  teaching  in,  261;  rhetoric,  363; 
chemistry,  266. 

Hobbies.  8. 

Hopkins^  moral  philosophy,  107. 

Honor  rolls,  206. 

Humdrum  teachers,  102. 

Human  nature,  confidence  in,  103;  its  Jepratlty,  lot* 
element  of  good,  103. 

Human  constitution,  outline.  108. 

Interference  of  parents,  70;  225. 

Ideal  teacher,  37. 

Ingenuity,  field  for,  52. 

Irregularities  in  attendance,  74. 

Indifference  of  parents.  82. 

Investigation,  habit  of,  117;  by  writing  method,  117 
emulation,  118. 

Interest,  pupil  should  interest  bin  class,  126;  It 
studies,  190. 

Index  Berum,  127. 

Impressiveness  in  speaking,  130. 

Immediate  objects  in  class  management,  144. 

Incentives,  194;  how  applied,  196;  improper,  206. 

Indispensables  in  the  art  of  teaching,  61. 

Insubordination,  5,  66,  67. 

Influence,  how  exercised,  11. 

Illustrations,  classified.  22;  classes  explained,  22;  ex 
emplified,  22;  facility  of,  23. 

Illustrations,  236;  true  forms,  255;  rhetorical,  255 
scientific,  256;  artistic,  257;  practical,  258. 

Industry,  habit  of,  115. 

Keeping  pupils  in,  73. 

Knowledge,  of  branches,  14 ;  how  tested,  14;  kind,  1JV1 
how  cures  pedantry,  101;  thirst  for  more,  101 
"  is  power,*'  apothegm  criticised,  110. 

Law,  local  board,  6;  evil,  6;  blessed,  16;  how  intro- 
duced, 184 ;  pupil's  sympathy,  189 ;  normal  meth- 
od, law  of  right,  190. 

Lazy  teacher,  10. 

Labor,  amount,  71. 

Laxness,  guard  against,  195. 

Lectures,  pupils  in  advanced  classes,  129;  synopsis  of 
first  twelve  in  this  course,  261  a. 

Liberty,  spirit  of,  2L3. 

Low  salaries,  4.  89. 

Love  of  work,  15;  reasons  for,  41. 

Management,  public  schools,  etc.,  29;  class  In  school, 

Mathematical  skill,  147. 

Methods,  not  applicable,  5;  force  method,  27;  police 

recitation,  34. 
Mental  arithmetic,  80;  class  in,  135;  model  solutions, 

Mediate  objects  in  class  management,  147. 

Ministry,  compared  with  teaching,  62. 

Mixed  schools,  social  faculties,  126. 

Morning  study,  best,  97. 

Motives  to  good  recitation,  124. 

Model  solutions  in  mental  arithmetic,  118. 

Music,  vocal,  80. 

Monasticism,  is  common  idea  of  teaching,  221. 

Normal  principle,  88;  method  evolved,  114;  teacher. 

128;  method  with  advanced  class,  129;  method 

for  diligence  and  order,  ISO;  with  law  of  right, 

190;  of  self  reporting,  198;  tactics,  222;  cure  of 

stammering,  230. 
Notes  to  parents,  214. 
Oral  recitations,  130;  reports,  132. 
Organization  of  class,  136;  school,  156;  preliminaries, 

156;  ungraded  school,  165. 
Overtasking  scholars,  6. 
Object  lessons.  9,  79;  teaching,  erroneous,  235;  true, 

248;  teaching,  238;  spirit  of  true,  252;  in  high 

school,  261. 
Objections  to  discipline,  1,73;  to  weekly  repcrt  curd*. 

206. 


INDEX. 


Objects,  aimed  at  in  class  management,  144;  of  true 
object  teaching,  249. 

Order,  habit  of,  119;  method  of  inciting  to,  178. 

Orthography,  80. 

Outline  of  human  constitution,  108. 

Outlines,  use  explained,  120;  made  by  teacher,  120; 
pupil.  121;  not  superficial,  122;  result  of  use,  123. 

Paper,  daily  school,  SO. 

Parents,  interference,  70,  225;  indifference,  82,  226; 
notes  to,  214. 

Patriotism,  cultivated,  62. 

Partiality,  its  place,  142. 

Parties,  evening,  231. 

Practical  illustrations,  2:>8. 

Personal  defects,  not  referred  to,  8. 

Penmanship,  80. 

Prejudice  against  novelties,  69. 

Pedantry.  101. 

Perplexities  brought  to  the  master,  105. 

Preparation  for  recitation,  14>. 

Preliminaries  to  organizing  school,  156. 

Penalties,  fixing,  186;  discussed,  210;  special,  216;  im- 
proper, 218. 

Prizes,  offering,  34;  improper,  207. 

Power,  teaching,  17;  of  analysis,  18;  to  be  desired,  26; 
of  affection,  44;  of  appeal.  45;  combination  46; 
its  accumulation,  129. 

Promptitude,  attendance,  79. 

Police  system,  30. 

Programme  of  school  work,  174;  working  by,  180. 

Profession,  of  teaching,  opinion  of,  3;  popular,  3; 
true,  4 ;  grandeur  of,  58. 

Punishment,  confinement,  7;  studr,  7;  precautions, 
210;  judicious,  211;  corporal,  215. 

Pupils,  motives,  125;  report  on  special  topics,  128; 
trained  in  speaking,  130;  standing  recorded,  143; 
not  to  communicate,  145;  sympathy  with  law, 
189. 

Psychology,  results  of  normal  method  in,  129. 

Qualifications  of  teacher,  3. 

Quickness  of  apprehension,  etc.,  146. 

Requirements  of  the  profession,  4;  not  to  be  exces- 
sive, 192. 

Relations  and  uses,  19. 

Reception  of  students,  30. 

Uwitatioh,  police  system,  34;  too  numerous,  71; 
benches,  85;  may  promote  speech  power;  in 
mental  arithmetic,  139;  pupils'  standing  re- 
Corded,  143;  standing  up  to  recite,  146;  culling 
to  and  dismissing,  168;  approbation,  196;  priva- 
tion of.  211. 

KeMons  for  loving  the  work,  41. 

Respect  of  the  world,  59. 

Responsibilities  of  teachers,  63. 

Rewards,  vicious,  116. 

Reports  on  special  topics,  123 ;  daily  and  weekly,  214 ; 
on  standing,  198;  false,  227. 

Religious  students  address  Sunday-schools,  etc.,  133. 

Reading  facilitates  acquaintance  with  pupils,  167. 

BOC«>NS,  169,  170,  212. 

Reproof,  213. 

Rhetorical  illustrations,  255. 

Rhetoric  in  high  school,  262. 

Rigor,  l». 


Routine,  guarded  against,  196. 

Roll-calling,  197. 

Rolls  of  honor,  206. 

Strategy,  54,  220. 

Slavery  ever  a  failure,  116. 

Slates  in  mental  arithmetic,  137. 

Standing  up  to  recite,  146. 

Standing  of  pupils  marked,  197. 

Seats,  lack  of,  85. 

Self  difficulties,  92. 

Self  control,  96,  100. 

Self  distrust,  102. 

Speaking,  pupil's  fluency,  130. 

Self  reliance  in  speech,  146. 

Self  management  in  class,  147. 

Self  reporting,  193. 

Singing  geography,  89. 

Spirituality,  62. 

Scientific  experiment,  etc.,  79;  ilhistrnti,  aft,  25*. 

Spirit  of  the  methods  insisted  on,  134. 

Spies,  209. 

Spirit  of  true  object  teaching,  252. 

Social  power,  100;  faculties  in  mixed  schools,  VM. 

Scolding,  12. 

School-room,  41. 

Study,  morning,  97;  exemption  from,  208;  as  punish* 

ment,  7;  what  you  dislike,  15;  compulsory,  74 J 

burden,  223. 
Student  must  connect  ideas  and  object*,  127;  to  learn 

expression,  130. 
Suspension,  power  of,  160,  215. 
Superintendency,  14. 
Systems  of  government,  30. 
Sympathy,  254. 

Synopsis  of  twelve  lectures,  261, 
Talking,  excessive,  10. 
Tact,  24. 

Tardiness,  causes  of,  77. 
Training  the  will,  181. 
Tactics,  220;  normal,  222. 
Teacher,  qualifications  of,  3:  position  of,  3;  true,  12, 

ideal,  37;  preparing  for  other  profcssiout,  »; 

using  force  method,  40;  responsibility  rf,  63. 
Teaching,  rote, 9;  power,  17;  common  idea  cf,  221. 
Temptations,  12. 
Text-books,  101. 

Tendencies  to  be  guarded  against,  195. 
Tricks  cured,  230. 
Tobacco,  use  of,  95. 
Topics  assigned  to  class,  1 13. 
True  conceptions  of  school  work,  110. 
True  object  teaching,  248. 
Ultimate  objects  of  class  management  148 
Undertasking  pupils,  6. 
Ungraded  schools,  165. 
Usefulness,  125. 
Variety  of  work,  49. 
Visiting  school,  82. 
Will  to  be  trained,  181. 
Weekly  reports,  201. 
Work,  variety  of,  49. 
Writing  method  of  study,  117,  lift. 
Toung  meu  addressed,  25. 


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